To foreigners, a Yankee is an American. To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner. To Northerners, a Yankee is an Easterner. To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander. To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter. And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast. - E. B. White
or: To a Vermonter, a Yankee is somebody who still uses an outhouse.
Ephemicropolis, Peter Root, 2010 (100,000 Staples, Approx floor area 600×300cm)
Stacks of staples were broken into varying sizes from full stacks about 12cm high down to single staples. These stacks were then stood up and arranged over a period of 40 hours.
Artist Statement
The work I create regularly involves highly labor-intensive, mantra-like procedures of construction and assemblage. As well as being simple, playful experiments the work often touches upon themes of impermanence, repetition, structure, pattern, scale and architecture. My work often takes the form of extremely fragile, temporary arrangements, with works subject to micro-apocalyptic events such as a light breeze or a falling leaf.
I am interested in creating artwork that acknowledges and utilizes aspects of the world around me at times disregarding their intended or standard function: objects, technology, software, food, sound etc… and using these elements as starting points for exploration.