Sometimes I think that objects I see on a regular basis don't make any sense until I can't see them anymore, like the pieces of a puzzle have clicked together long after I've discarded the game. This is how I feel about Joe Worley's sculptural work Aseptic Miura Faraday Shelter. Worley has meticulously cleaned, joined, and folded 216 soy milk tetra packs together to create a silver tent, large enough for at least one occupant. The work was originally shown in a makeshift gallery, hanging from the ceiling, alongside photo shopped images of the tent in settings more fitting for the work, such as the Waihopai satellite communications base.
Upon first seeing the completed work I was impressed by the care and labour which was evident in the piece. Worley has stated that Aseptic Miura Faraday Shelter is mainly about paranoia and mental illness. The folds in the silver soy milk cartons are designed to scatter satellite beams in different directions, making the tent safe from real or imagined forces, and the cartons are indestructible and capable of keeping it's contents at a controlled temperature. So, in theory, the Aseptic Miura Faraday Shelter would allow its occupant to remain undetected by thermal imaging and radio waves. At the time of the work first being exhibited, I saw it as both industrial and futuristic, but the simple idea of the work managed to elude me. This is not a criticism of the piece at all, but instead a vague overview on my behalf. Having seen the work regularly as it was being crafted almost took away from the impact of seeing the final product. It is only recently that I can see the work in a different light- it does not seem industrial anymore, nor does it seem futuristic, instead I find the idea of a collapsible, portable, and, most importantly, undetectable nomadic home to be incredibly comforting. The thought which has gone in to making the Aseptic Miura Faraday Shelter so wholly imperceptible through form and material has resulted in a work which provides the dweller, or, in my case, the viewer, with a sense of mitigation without employing any trappings of cliched comfort.By Jane McEntyre
