Sasha Fishman

Lives and works in New York, NY, USA

Artist statement

In my practice, I explore intersections of material histories, scientific inquiry, and fringe beliefs. Through sculpture, video, and aquatic organism research, I investigate intelligence embedded in extractive infrastructure from both scientific and pseudoscientific perspectives. My practice generates a rheology - the study of the flow of matter - which emerges through my engagement with scientists, environmental conservation industries, water systems, and formulating living, ephemeral, and synthetic materials. Fluctuating in appearance between solid and liquid, resin has been the primary material throughout my practice, but its toxicity resulted in my exploration into biomaterials. Shifting towards self-formulating materials has empowered me to dictate sculptural properties and prompted a broader exploration into material implications: history, collection, disposal, supply chains, life cycles, and ethics. This shift is ongoing, revealing the necessity of interdisciplinary collaboration, notably highlighted during a marine biomaterial research fellowship at the California Institute of Technology, and continued with my collaborations in chemistry and neurobiology labs at Columbia University. Just as sculpting with materials lends to different obstacles and questions of agency, my projects involve collaborative research with local scientists, alternative thinkers, and agricultural communities. I aim to build interdisciplinary communities, fostering a dialogue around tensions...

Artwork