EnquireIntroduction
The series “Crystal Grid” by Paul Kuimet consists of twelve photo collages in total and combines photographs of tropical plants taken in the botanical gardens of Tallinn, Brussels, Glasgow, Brooklyn, Frankfurt and the Bronx. Kuimet uses the chemical magic of analogue photography to record the light conditions of greenhouses around the world. The artist has then cut the photos with a laser, following the structural pattern of the Crystal Palace’s central transept. The Crystal Palace was built at Hyde Park in London for the Great Exhibition in 1851, and it was designed by Joseph Paxton, known as a gardener. It was the largest glass building of his time. To achieve a glassy surface on the collages, Paul has coated them with epoxy resin. As a result of this delicate and labour-intensive process, these works contain many associations, ideas and references to history and technology. Similar to his recent essay-film “Material Aspects” (2020), Kuimet’s “Crystal Grid” relates to the history of modernist glass architecture from the Crystal Palace to the present day hinting at the metaphorical connections of glass architecture to global capitalism, social structures and modern life.
