But it is not merely recognition but the act of dissection which removes the original context and creates the potential for new readings and association. In isolation the unitary meaning becomes separated and allows for new voices to begin to be heard, as though the separate parts were placed under a microscope to reveal surprising underlying structures. The act of singling out a part of the whole, whether it be word, image or object, inevitably distorts our understanding as it challenges our assumed knowledge, sometimes inverting the original meaning and becoming a disturbing re-interpretation of what we believed we knew. Their absence is essential in order to make sense of what is present. The re-presenting of often overlooked and overfamiliar objects in a fresh context causes us to question our presumed certainties.
Objects become vehicles for further ideas rather than solely an end in themselves.
They can be moved, dismantled, re-arranged, added to, reduced in order to alter meaning so that they are no longer a single, static thing but a constantly changing, developing entity which can move through space and time. So an object which originally existed to perform a particular function becomes invested with aspirations and memories, taking on a life of its own and opening up the possibility of becoming a site for ideas where a dialogue can take place. I disassemble a machine as if I were in the process of repair, nothing is broken during the breakdown. As in a biological dissection each component is carefully examined before any attempt is made to remove it. Once the machine is dismantled individual units are then further deconstructed.