50 H × 32 W × 10 D in. / 102 H × 81 W × 25 D cm
Brass, Steel, Wood, Mirror
The terraced irrigation of hillsides has always fascinated J McDonald. It is a moment in which human intervention meets natural topography in a harmonious, poetic way. Inspired by these moments, as well as by the travertine terraces of places like Yellowstone, US, and Pamukkale, Turkey, the mirror drips down the wall, projecting a topography onto its planar surface. As with any topography, the nature of the mirror changes as we navigate around it, gaze into it from different perspectives. Straight on, our reflection is whole – but as we move across it we see the brass edging begin to defy its own materiality, and we see our selves fragment, splinter into pieces and scatter across the room. We no longer see our selves, only pieces of our selves dispersed across the time and space.
50 H × 32 W × 10 D in. / 102 H × 81 W × 25 D cm
Brass, Steel, Wood, Mirror
The terraced irrigation of hillsides has always fascinated J McDonald. It is a moment in which human intervention meets natural topography in a harmonious, poetic way. Inspired by these moments, as well as by the travertine terraces of places like Yellowstone, US, and Pamukkale, Turkey, the mirror drips down the wall, projecting a topography onto its planar surface. As with any topography, the nature of the mirror changes as we navigate around it, gaze into it from different perspectives. Straight on, our reflection is whole – but as we move across it we see the brass edging begin to defy its own materiality, and we see our selves fragment, splinter into pieces and scatter across the room. We no longer see our selves, only pieces of our selves dispersed across the time and space.
J McDonald
50 W x 15 D x 30 H in / 127 W x 38 D x 76 H cm
Polished Brass, Kozo Paper
8 Edition
2022
In one of the most technically difficult Cube Variations yet, a monolithic polished brass console is eroded away by time, leaving behind an intricate internal structure. Its geometry is still intact, its planes legible but on the verge of disintegrating completely. Or is it the intrinsic structure of nature, of the universe itself, growing expansively as if from nothing but bound by this luxurious shell of shiny rationalism?
J McDonald
24 W x 16 D x 72 H in / 61 W x 41 D x 183 H cm
Welded Steel, Gypsum Cement, Mirror Glass, Blown Glass, Lighting
4 Edition
2022
Cube Variations 9 is McDonald's largest piece to date using a newly developed welding process, an amalgamation of thousands of tiny pools of molten metal which harden into a highly textured steel skin. Sitting atop this otherworldly body is a smooth, clean and precise mirror glass monolith. Reflective when the internal light is off, but growing transparent as the light inside increases, the cube reveals the creature within.
Download Tear Sheet