Artist Paul Andrew Hayes works on his site-specific installation, The Thing About Accumulation , at the Exploratorium.

Photo credits: Sophia Wang
The Thing About Accumulation
2007
Paul Andrew Hayes
A swarm of crumpled white pieces of paper are suspended on very thin strands of steel wire, so as to describe a cube measuring 18 feet on each side. Each cubic foot is occupied by a single 8"X14" piece, resulting in the use of over 5,500 pieces of white paper.

"I've often thought that it would be an amazing experience to shrink to a microscopic size and see the particles of matter as though they formed a vast landscape. My desire for this experience and for sharing it with others has played a large part in creating my recent installation work.

"A crumpled piece of white paper can be looked at as a symbol of an idea that has failed. Science progresses from the steady accumulation of ideas put forth and proven wrong, combined with our ability to look back from an outside perspective on all our failed ideas and gain a deeper understanding of life."


About the artist
Paul Andrew Hayes received a BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design, where he often created large, site-specific installations to complete ordinary illustration assignments. This type of experimentation led to set design with Perishable Theatre in Providence, RI and the group Knife Beats Finger in San Francisco. In addition to sculptural projects with the local Headless Point Studios, Paul has developed numerous site-specific works around San Francisco; most notably the “Paperwork” series for Red Ink Studios and “Thing That Makes Everyone Beautiful” for The Canvas Gallery.

Paul’s work can be found at http://www.paulandrewhayes.com .