newly laid test route on which ruts are already worn, 2023 is made of a WW2 silk parachute framed in a stainless steel laboratory lattice and bound in leather that has been dyed and formed by the artist. The lattice, divorced from its intended function and gratuitous in application, suggests an unconventional attitude towards utility, one where the original use of materials are acknowledged in their subversion. 

The parachute was manufactured in 1942 by Pioneer Parachute Co. Inc. and is stamped with a strike date of February 1950, when the device is definitively taken out of use. As nylon wasn’t developed as an ideal material for parachutes until 1943, much of the early WW2 devices were made of highly refined silk. Rationing and scarcity made silk an unobtainable fabric for many, and civilians would often repurpose these pieces of equipment into wedding dresses, under garments and other delicate items. Pioneer Parachute Co. Inc. later went on to develop nylon parachutes, and supplied the parachutes utilized by the allies for landing on the beach of Normandy on D-Day. 

Elaine Cameron-Weir’s work often includes the discarded materials and weapons of war. Some materials, such as this parachute, come specifically from WW2 due to the artist's interest in the technological advancements made from the late 30s to the late 60s, an era that extends from trench warfare to the moon landing. Curator Nina Bozicnik writes, “Throughout her work in sculpture and writing, Cameron-Weir grapples with questions of individual and collective human survival, while also considering the potential for renewal and transformation in states of being and forms of knowledge. Her work is informed by belief systems that structure how people make sense and meaning of the world - from science to religion to the nation state. Often repurposing objects with previous scientific, medical, or military functions, Cameron-Weir creates exquisitely assembled forms that conjure speculative uses or ritual applications in times past and future.” 

newly laid test route on which ruts are already worn, 2023 is made of a WW2 silk parachute framed in a stainless steel laboratory lattice and bound in leather that has been dyed and formed by the artist. The lattice, divorced from its intended function and gratuitous in application, suggests an unconventional attitude towards utility, one where the original use of materials are acknowledged in their subversion. 

The parachute was manufactured in 1942 by Pioneer Parachute Co. Inc. and is stamped with a strike date of February 1950, when the device is definitively taken out of use. As nylon wasn’t developed as an ideal material for parachutes until 1943, much of the early WW2 devices were made of highly refined silk. Rationing and scarcity made silk an unobtainable fabric for many, and civilians would often repurpose these pieces of equipment into wedding dresses, under garments and other delicate items. Pioneer Parachute Co. Inc. later went on to develop nylon parachutes, and supplied the parachutes utilized by the allies for landing on the beach of Normandy on D-Day. 

Elaine Cameron-Weir’s work often includes the discarded materials and weapons of war. Some materials, such as this parachute, come specifically from WW2 due to the artist's interest in the technological advancements made from the late 30s to the late 60s, an era that extends from trench warfare to the moon landing. Curator Nina Bozicnik writes, “Throughout her work in sculpture and writing, Cameron-Weir grapples with questions of individual and collective human survival, while also considering the potential for renewal and transformation in states of being and forms of knowledge. Her work is informed by belief systems that structure how people make sense and meaning of the world - from science to religion to the nation state. Often repurposing objects with previous scientific, medical, or military functions, Cameron-Weir creates exquisitely assembled forms that conjure speculative uses or ritual applications in times past and future.” 

newly laid test route on which ruts are already worn, 2023 is made of a WW2 silk parachute framed in a stainless steel laboratory lattice and bound in leather that has been dyed and formed by the artist. The lattice, divorced from its intended function and gratuitous in application, suggests an unconventional attitude towards utility, one where the original use of materials are acknowledged in their subversion. 

The parachute was manufactured in 1942 by Pioneer Parachute Co. Inc. and is stamped with a strike date of February 1950, when the device is definitively taken out of use. As nylon wasn’t developed as an ideal material for parachutes until 1943, much of the early WW2 devices were made of highly refined silk. Rationing and scarcity made silk an unobtainable fabric for many, and civilians would often repurpose these pieces of equipment into wedding dresses, under garments and other delicate items. Pioneer Parachute Co. Inc. later went on to develop nylon parachutes, and supplied the parachutes utilized by the allies for landing on the beach of Normandy on D-Day. 

Elaine Cameron-Weir’s work often includes the discarded materials and weapons of war. Some materials, such as this parachute, come specifically from WW2 due to the artist's interest in the technological advancements made from the late 30s to the late 60s, an era that extends from trench warfare to the moon landing. Curator Nina Bozicnik writes, “Throughout her work in sculpture and writing, Cameron-Weir grapples with questions of individual and collective human survival, while also considering the potential for renewal and transformation in states of being and forms of knowledge. Her work is informed by belief systems that structure how people make sense and meaning of the world - from science to religion to the nation state. Often repurposing objects with previous scientific, medical, or military functions, Cameron-Weir creates exquisitely assembled forms that conjure speculative uses or ritual applications in times past and future.” 

newly laid test route on which ruts are already worn, 2023 is made of a WW2 silk parachute framed in a stainless steel laboratory lattice and bound in leather that has been dyed and formed by the artist. The lattice, divorced from its intended function and gratuitous in application, suggests an unconventional attitude towards utility, one where the original use of materials are acknowledged in their subversion. 

The parachute was manufactured in 1942 by Pioneer Parachute Co. Inc. and is stamped with a strike date of February 1950, when the device is definitively taken out of use. As nylon wasn’t developed as an ideal material for parachutes until 1943, much of the early WW2 devices were made of highly refined silk. Rationing and scarcity made silk an unobtainable fabric for many, and civilians would often repurpose these pieces of equipment into wedding dresses, under garments and other delicate items. Pioneer Parachute Co. Inc. later went on to develop nylon parachutes, and supplied the parachutes utilized by the allies for landing on the beach of Normandy on D-Day. 

Elaine Cameron-Weir’s work often includes the discarded materials and weapons of war. Some materials, such as this parachute, come specifically from WW2 due to the artist's interest in the technological advancements made from the late 30s to the late 60s, an era that extends from trench warfare to the moon landing. Curator Nina Bozicnik writes, “Throughout her work in sculpture and writing, Cameron-Weir grapples with questions of individual and collective human survival, while also considering the potential for renewal and transformation in states of being and forms of knowledge. Her work is informed by belief systems that structure how people make sense and meaning of the world - from science to religion to the nation state. Often repurposing objects with previous scientific, medical, or military functions, Cameron-Weir creates exquisitely assembled forms that conjure speculative uses or ritual applications in times past and future.”