From Pointillism to stippling, Ben Day to halftones, the compilation of dots to assemble a picture might be traced via myriad examples in artwork historical past. However what concerning the medium of bubble wrap? Whereas most individuals see this materials as nothing greater than an amusing packaging cushion, East Village artist Bradley Hart views bubble wrap as a recent canvas, ready to be reworked into an excellent mosaic composed of a whole bunch of paint droplets.
Utilizing paint-filled syringes, Hart painstakingly injects multicolored acrylics into the plastic wrapping’s air bubbles. This system permits him to create reimagined historic artworks reminiscent of Georges Seurat’s “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” (1884–86), vivid landscapes, photorealistic renderings of celebrities, and self-portraits. The method can take wherever from hours to weeks, given the meticulous nature of Hart’s apply: He preloads each syringe and numbers every particular person bubble in accordance with a corresponding chart. The ultimate product isn’t one paintings, however a number of, because the dripping extra paint varieties a hazier duplicate of the unique.
“I began hyper-inflating the bubbles, so [the paint] leaked out, and I labored from the underside to the highest. So on the finish of it, there’s an enormous sheet of paint on the again of the plastic,” Hart informed Hyperallergic. “I peel that sheet of paint off the again and that creates what I name the impression.”
Hart says he started experimenting with bubble wrap via sculpture round 2009, when he discovered that it was initially invented in the late 1950s as a textured wallpaper. But it surely wasn’t till a few years later, across the identical time that he started therapy for a number of sclerosis (MS), that he started his present apply. Initially recognized with the continual sickness in 2003, Hart says he was reluctant to inject himself with the therapy treatment for greater than a decade till an accident pressured him to rethink.
“The concept of injecting was at the back of my thoughts,” Hart mentioned. “Needles and syringes had been at the back of my head, and I had this ‘A-ha’ second: I’m going to inject this bubble wrap.”
Using bubble wrap additionally stems from Hart’s curiosity in sustainability. Except for repurposing the packaging materials, he has prolonged recycling to the remainder of his artwork apply, reusing syringes and incorporating dried acrylics and discarded resin into new works, evidenced in his Casted Waste (2015) and Assemblages (2011–13) collection. In his Jersey Metropolis studio, he even constructed a stool made fully out of layered scrap paint, the ultimate product a rainbow seat recalling sedimentary rock.
Prior to now a number of years, Hart’s MS has made it troublesome to take care of his apply on his personal. With the assistance of a mobility scooter and a private assistant, he is ready to proceed his work. At the moment, Hart says he’s wanting right into a robotic arm, however acknowledges that he’ll all the time want an additional set of palms to assist along with his initiatives. “I didn’t thoughts having individuals do issues once I might do it; it’s extra the concept of like, I need to have the ability to do it myself,” Hart mentioned.
Certainly, though Hart’s MS has restricted his mobility, it has by no means inhibited him from growing new artworks. He has additionally been toying with driving over the bubble-wrap works along with his motorized scooter, creating what he dubs “artifacts.” As a result of for Hart, bursting one’s bubble can solely result in a brand new starting.