Meredith James '04 creates videos and sculptures that challenge perceptions

Artist Meredith James '04 shares three videos and additional photos of her work.

Meredith James created her 14 x 8 x 12-foot sculpture <i>Impossible House</i> with salvaged wood and windows.
A still photograph from the video <i>The Invention of Morel pages 89-91,</i> a composite of two videos that match shot for shot, one video of the room intact and another of the room as it is smashed. In the installation, the two videos would be projected simultaneously (with two different projectors) onto the same projection screen.
Another still from <i>The Invention of Morel pages 89-91.</i>
A third still from <i>The Invention of Morel pages 89-91.</i>
<i>Corridor,</i> a work from 2009, was created from dry-cleaning conveyors and vinyl. It is 15 x 10 x 7.5 feet in size.
<i>See Through Installation</i>
<i>A stand of roadside cholla against which small birds had been driven by the storm and there impaled</i> (2010)
<i>A stand of roadside cholla against which small birds had been driven by the storm and there impaled</i> (2010)
<i>See-Through</i> (8 x 7 x 9 feet) was created with salvaged wood and windows.
<i>Cuckoo 1 (Talking)</i> (2010)

The photographs above present additional images of work by artist Meredith James ’04, whose creations  “show parallels between the world you imagine in your mind and the world we inhabit,” according to a Montage article in the November-December 2011 issue of Harvard Magazine. Distorting architectural space and playing with perceptions, James’s videos are inspired by the works of Surrealists such as Jean Cocteau, as well as by literary science-fiction novels. Watch three of her videos below: Day Shift, Door Sculpture, and Present Time.

 

 

Day Shift:

Door Sculpture:

Present Time:

You might also like

Novelist Lev Grossman on Why Fantasy Isn’t About Escapism

The Magicians author discusses his influences, from Harvard to King Arthur to Tolkien.

This TikTok Artist Combines Monsters and Mental Heath

Ava Jinying Salzman’s artwork helps people process difficult feelings.

Rachel Ruysch’s Lush (Still) Life

Now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, a Dutch painter’s art proved a treasure trove for scientists.

Most popular

Trump Administration Appeals Order Restoring $2.7 Billion in Funding to Harvard

The appeal, which had been expected, came two days before the deadline to file.

Why Men Are Falling Behind in Education, Employment, and Health

Can new approaches to education address a growing gender gap?

The 1884 Cannibalism-at-Sea Case That Still Has Harvard Talking

The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens changed the course of legal history. Here’s why it’s been fodder for countless classroom debates.

Explore More From Current Issue

Four young people sitting around a table playing a card game, with a chalkboard in the background.

On Weekends, These Harvard Math Professors Teach the Smaller Set

At Cambridge Math Circle, faculty and alumni share puzzles, riddles, and joy.

A football player kicking a ball while another teammate holds it on the field.

A Near-Perfect Football Season Ends in Disappointment

A loss to Villanova derails Harvard in the playoffs. 

A girl sits at a desk, flanked by colorful, stylized figures, evoking a whimsical, surreal atmosphere.

The Trouble with Sidechat

No one feels responsible for what happens on Harvard’s anonymous social media app.