Sewn Boulder reconstructs a granite surface plate as a boulder. Precision-ground granite, manufactured to establish an exceptionally flat datum, is cut into irregular fragments and reassembled with stainless steel cable, replacing the rigidity of the original plate with a flexible structure. At first glance, it reads as a geological erratic; closer inspection reveals the calibrated surfaces, drilled passages, seams, and hardware holding its fragments together. The work turns an instrument of measurement into an object that appears to have been shaped by forces beyond measurement: fracture, displacement, and time. Both material and meditation, the work registers the tension between precision and contingency, and between the systems that make matter measurable and the forces that make it unstable.
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TITLE: Sewn Boulder
DATE: 2026
MATERIALS: Precision calibrated granite surface plate (0.001” flatness), 316 stainless steel 7-19 cable, hand poured copper seal
SCALE: sculpture
DIMENSIONS: 18"x44"x27"
STATUS: complete
OFFERING: Contact with enquiries
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forthcoming
Straight Edge (a derivative work of Sewn Boulder)
A datum is supposedly an absolute reference, but in some cases, such as flatness, the reference is relative to scale. This stack of triangular fragments leftover from the carving of Sewn Boulder aligns the most irregular points to a perfectly vertical datum. Each fragment has two cut edges and one edge that is flat to one thousandth of an inch. The datum determines the arrangement of the individual polished faces, producing a continuous surface that becomes increasingly choppy from one individual to the next. Collective flatness is lost when the irregular vertices are held to a common datum, deviating 1.5625 inches across the 42-inch stack. Flatness is relative to scale. While 0.001 inch reads as flat at the scale of a polished stone face, a deviation of 1.5625 inches can also be considered flat when viewed at a sufficiently large scale. At the proportional scale of the original surface plate tolerance, to make Straight Edge appear straight, the appropriate viewing distance is approximately 1.035 miles.