The Maturity Playground

Abstract

Within the context of relational art, the ongoing series, Maturity Playground, incorporates pre-fabricated playground components used as sculptural material. The use of slides, swings, trampolines, and merry-go-rounds has been disrupted. These structures are manipulated through placement and colour to the point where they become socially tense or awkward situations for adults. Playground structures in the art gallery subvert conventional notions of art, the understanding of appropriate behavior in an art environment and the understanding of play as an aesthetic element. Such re-placement creates a disruption to the psychological associations attached to the activity of the object. In this new context, the works allow participation and promote the idea that play can be a model for co-operative behavior.