Mandeep Dillon

Having completed an MA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art, Mandeep Dillon works across disciplines to investigate notions of entropy and impermanence. Her ephemeral sculptures are an ongoing investigation into the transient physicality of human and non-human entities. Conflicted about occupying space and forever adding to a crowded world, temporality is integral to her practice. Drawing on her former career as a filmmaker she uses video to contextualise her work, with photographs often the only lasting evidence of the sculpture having existed.

The objects made primarily of inflatables are inherently transient and fragile. Their physical stability depends on a delicate balance between the inner and outer pressure of gossamer skins. Reacting to subtle environmental changes, a swollen buoyancy hints at imminent collapse. Orbs that dangle or wobble precariously on skeletal structures of sinuous metal appear as a parody of entrails or comedic characters. When situated in a landscape, they can present as alien fruits or topiary.

Experiencing something both abstract and visceral, the onlooker’s breath or movements may trigger a kinetic reaction and an awareness of their embodied relationship to the works.

The incorporation of discarded medical and laboratory instruments suggests the fragile symbiosis between industrial and organic forms and may evoke a sense of our own mortality.