Dietrich Wegner

B1978, Adelaide Australia.

Based in Northwestern Pennsylvania, United States.

Every society accumulates contradictions amidst their ideals. I employ those contradictions, situating opposites together in sculpture and photography that feed on the friction between two conflicting ideas. When an image stands in limbo, between associations, it occupies a flexible place in our mind. I create images that are safe and unsettling, abject and beautiful. Some of my work shows us how a mushroom cloud can resemble a tree house, an anus a vortex, a suicide bomber a vulnerable human being, all in an effort to explore our varied states of contentment and security. In other works, such as in Cumulous Brand, babies are covered in multicolored tattoos in a meditation on how our identities evolve and how we declare them.

Often I choose materials that contradict an aspect of an image while striving towards a realistic depiction of the image. A mushroom cloud is fluffy like synthetic cotton, yet a Poly-fil mushroom cloud becomes fun and cozy. A blood splat (such as in Red Field) is shiny and exciting, yet perhaps signifying something not so fun. Both a Poly-fil playhouse and a urethane blood splat are examples of material reflecti...