Matt Kenyon and Adam Fure: Research Through Making

Tap, a collaborative project created by Stamps Associate Professor Matt Kenyon and Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning Assistant Professor Adam Fure as part of TCAUP’s ​“Research Through Making” series, is on display at Liberty Annex Gallery. ​“Research Through Making” enables faculty to engage in architecture research or creative projects that are predicated on making, collaborating with students to produce projects that ultimately lead to a public exhibition. 

The image of a contemporary kitchen sink spouting forth flames has become synonymous with ​“Fracking,” a method of horizontal drilling into shale formations known as hydraulic fracturing. Across America, residents have experienced a slew of chronic health problems that can be traced back to the contamination of their air, water wells, or surface water resulting from nearby oil and gas fracking.

Tap is comprised of a vintage kitchen sink sunk vertically into a gallery wall. Instead of water, yellow and blue flames pour from the faucet initiating color shifts in an encrusted frame made from fused bits of discarded ceramics. As the flames spill out a faint voice can be heard. The source of the sound can be traced back to the flame — the flame itself is speaking.

Its voice is actually a shifting collection of media coverage and individual stories relating to fracking. Stories range from property owners debating the merits of allowing their land to be mined to truck drivers employed to haul the 2 – 8 million gallons of water needed to fracture a single well.

The flow of flame and personal narratives set within a thermochromic frame seeks to fuse the complexities of iconic imagery, exploitation, and domestic objects.

PROJECT TEAM
Adam Fure, Assistant Professor of Architecture
Matt Kenyon, Associate Professor of Art 
Contributors: Shane Darwent, Ramon Hernandez, Olivia Kempf, Jaime Rivera, Michael Turvin

Tap | Research Through Making | Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning