Exhibition Submission: Transatlanticism

Artist: Will Roux

1. Artist Statement: Transatlanticism

Inspiration: Transatlanticism by Death Cab for Cutie (2003)

I. The Presence of Absence

Distance is not merely a measurement of kilometres; it is a weight. This work investigates how presence is felt through absence, exploring the heavy, silent space that opens up when love is stretched across an ocean. In this landscape, a loved one persists not through physical proximity, but through the emotional echoes that continue to shape us even when we are worlds apart.

II. Mapping the Traces

Taking inspiration from the plea for visibility found in the lyrics of Death Cab for Cutie, I have created a "seascape map" of the impressions left behind. The foundation is a circular AI-generated seascape, a "tondo" representing a global isolation. Over this digital void, I have hand-embroidered intricate contour lines—the physical marks of a connection that refuses to fade. Each stitch acts as a "trace" of a remembered touch, a literal threading of one heart into the space of another across the Atlantic.

III. The Contained Echo

The sculptural element explores how love occupies space when bodies do not. Two separate glass jars each contain a single origami figure meticulously folded from world maps, representing the "contained traveller."

The base of each vessel holds the physical remnants of the creative process: the male figure stands amidst shredded map fragments, symbolising a geography worn thin by travel and time (The Trace of Distance). The female figure is surrounded by thread offcuts, the tangible "residue" of the embroidery process and the leftover traces of a heart attempting to mend the distance (The Echo of Presence). By bottling these figures separately, the work highlights the isolation of two individuals linked by a "message in a bottle"—the ultimate trace of a person sent into the distance.

Conclusion:

As you stand before these charted horizons and contained figures, consider the invisible threads in your own life. When the person you love is no longer standing in the room with you, what is the specific shape of the space they leave behind? Is it a void to be feared, or is it a map waiting to be drawn?