Sabe Lewellyn

Typically Sabe Lewellyn’s work seeks to create a visual poem and a visceral experience. These experiences are constructed with internal contradictions, to encourage a dialogue. Giving the viewer a jumping off point, he empowers them to have their own monolog or dialogue with the work. Even though he removes himself as an authority, the typical goal is to steer the conversation around quality and time; allowing an exploration of the qualitative for the participant.

He rarely works exclusively in one medium to invite the audience to explore the creation, refinement, and use of the materials, in a particular work, by society. In May of 2015, Sabe transported a boat, he spent almost a year designing, to the Gulf Coast and rowed out and lived on the U.S. barrier islands in the Gulf of Mexico. Much of his work now deals with the transient qualities that he experienced there.

From large, expansive spatial gestures and solid structural works to delicate, nuanced explorations using space-hungry materials like light, sound and aroma, there is constant diversity in the media and texture of the space in my practice.

These works bring to light the individuality of experience; the individuality and elasticity of time and space. They invoke the world outside as well as encouraging an investigation of exhibition space. They play on the edge of knowing and not knowing and with objects that have history, presence and the personal histories of the individual exploring a border between the unintelligible and the intangible. John Cage once said that those who were truly interested in sound were interested in the quiet ones: “they would say ‘did you hear that?’”

Typically the work seeks to create a visual poem and a visceral experience. These experiences are constructed with internal contradictions, to encourage a dialogue. Giving the viewer a jumping off point, they empower the public to have their own monolog or dialogue with the work. As often as I can I turn members of the public from viewer to collaborator, providing the opportunity to direct the work.

Two recent projects that included the public in this way were the sharing of wildflower seeds (as part of a neon work) to aid in growing bumblebee habitat, meaning they complete the project and determine the final shape in where and how they scatter the seeds, and the USB I embedded in the Glue Factory which created a new exhibition room curated by the public through offline file sharing.

Even though I remove myself as an authority, the typical goal is to steer the conversation around quality and time, allowing an exploration of the qualitative for the participant.

Rarely do I work exclusively in one medium; I invite the audience to explore the creation, refinement, and use of the materials, in a particular work, by society. In May of 2015, I transported a boat I spent almost a year designing, to the Gulf Coast and assembled it to row out and live on the U.S. barrier islands in the Gulf of Mexico. Much of my work now deals with the transient qualities that I experienced there.