David Johnson
A Pair of Pear-Shaped Pears (2021) – Expanded Polystyrene, Chemiwood, magnets, oil paint; 4m3.
Touch, perhaps the most fundamental of our senses, has been in short supply during the pandemic. This piece is about touching and not touching. The giant pears presented here don’t quite touch each other and yet visitors are warmly invited to gently touch them to experience their texture and their shape as best they can. The pears are nearly identical in form, they were machined out of polystyrene and the machine was controlled by an algorithm which was created from a digital scan of a real Conference pear.
Artist statement
I am a UK based, blind artist. I am unashamedly a blind artist rather than an artist who is blind. In my art practice I use a wide range of sculptural materials and processes. My pieces range from the monumental to the hand-held and often involve familiar, everyday objects. My art mission is not to overcome the barriers that blindness undoubtedly puts in the way but rather to show that experiences of beauty and knowledge are core elements in a blind person’s life.
