Maria Loboda, The Chosen

Maria Loboda makes work that has been described as performing a kind of anthropology. Inspired by its methods, alongside an interest in linguistics and archaeology, she unearths obscure histories and objects to unravel humanity's failed attempts to explain the universe through material culture. Through her work, Loboda subverts the historical application of meaning to objects by creating new combinations, all while enjoying the fallibilities of history, memory and records.

Despite her concern for objects Loboda typically starts with words, first selecting a term, phrase, action or title. For Yorkshire Sculpture International she created an installation called 'The Chosen'. The act of choosing is one at the heard of any debate around anthropology and its mehtods - what is selected and by whom. Ultimately, the act of collecting, or 'choosing', reveals as much about the selector as the selected, and is always the result of circumstance: time, resource, personality and so on.

Six lamps, each made from alabaster, hang high on the wall in the gallery. Giving out a subtle light, their initial allure stands at odds with their arrangement and, especially, their contents. Inside each lamp, a series of preserved exotic insects from around the world is seen in silhouette. They are specimens that have each been chosen bu why and for what remains unclear. Inspired by a 1920s design by Pierre Chareau (1883 - 1950), the lamps form what the artist describes as 'a beautiful ritual vessel for the insects now entombed within them, they lend gravitas to this dysfunctional environment I've created'.

Find out more about Maria Loboda by listening to our audio guide at bit.ly/ysi-hmi4

Courtesy of the artist and Maisterravalbuena. Photography Jerry Hardman-Jones