Nora Tryon, On the Ball, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 40 in.
Nora Tryon, Tower of Inequality, Paper maché, wood base, recycled materials, base: 12 x 18 in. sculpture: 44 x 24 x 24 in., 2021.
Artist’s Statement
To achieve balance, what an ideal! The forces of nature require movement, so even when a thing is perceived as being in balance it is either an illusion, a fleeting condition, or a system itself for which achieving balance is always in the present tense. Balance is often a subject or subtext to my work. Sometimes I am exploring the physicality of balance within the context of weight and structure, as in my sculptural work or the visual balance of composition in a two-dimensional work. But when the balance is at the heart of the concept of the work as in the piece shown here, I’m also playing with images and forms to portray acts of balance I observe and experience, acts that I participate in.
Human decisions and actions impact and are shaped by natural forces, and all are part of larger systems in constant transformation, all are aspects of the environment. “Man-made” conditions and short-sighted priorities reverberate, inseparable from the movement of planets, the spinning of electrons. Contemplating these balancing acts helps me achieve a certain measure of equilibrium, to change perspective, to zoom out or zoom in, and to focus on the process—the act of achieving balance.