Progreso
2005–2006
Tires, inner tubes, nets, iron, rubber, sand
132 × 856 × 334 cm approx.
Bunkers 2 (After Virilio)
2010
Watercolor on paper
10 parts, each 9.06 × 12.2 in / 23 × 31 cm
Untitled
2007
Indian ink and pencil
Dimensions variable
The work of Ishmael Randall Weeks spans site-specific installations, sculpture, video, and works on paper, in which he examines the relationship between architecture and its social context. Randall reflects on the legacies and crisis of modernism as it encounters both indigenous and informal architectures of Latin America. Themes such as urbanization, transformation, regeneration, deterritorialization, and nomadic existence are central to his practice.
While his drawing practice in the studio serves as a medium for more intimate explorations of these concerns, his large-scale works are based on the alteration of found and recycled materials, as well as environmental debris—often combined by the artist to create sculptural objects and architectural spaces. These works are not only made from what societies have discarded, but are also stripped of any functional use, revealing the limits of instrumental development discourse.
