Ed Janzen

DIY Series - 2003-2007

The body of work entitled "DIY" is a continuation of my investigation into the dualities of living on the margins between the real and the virtual.  D.I.Y., or "do it yourself”, refers to a hands-on approach to getting things done.  It prescribes a cause and effect that is usually within the physical and intellectual space of the doer.  It has a set of instructions that promise to lead the doer to success.
In these works, through manipulations of time and of physical and psychological space the connection from cause to effect are not as straightforward.  In the extreme case, cause is the effect.  Representations of the index finger are rendered and situated in mixed contexts using video, installation and sculpture. The ironies of the finger as both our most tactile interface to the physical world of touch and as passive switch to the virtual world are explored.  Here it becomes iconic signifier occasionally taking on the role of trickster, playing with our perception or exhibiting its limitations.