Untitled (What If I Drive?)

Tim Silver is an artist known for his use of impermanent media, employing materials that rapidly deteriorate such as chocolate, hair gel and watercolour pigment as the basis of his sculptural and photographic works. In 'Untitled (what if i drive)' (2009), miniature cars made from melted-down and recast Crayola crayons have left evidence of their passage along walls and a series of tracks installed in the gallery. The playfulness of the work is underscored by the way each time the installation is on display, a maverick car or two will veer off the road and strike out across the gallery wall. The marks left behind from this unseen performance, and the cars' increasing disintegration draw our attention to the passing of time and its inescapable aging effects.The cars, with their tiny side mirrors and windscreen wipers are cast with extraordinary attention to detail. Each time the work is presented, the car tyres and undercarriage are further worn down, drawn away. The artist photographs or films this process to document the gradual deterioration of his work. He is interested in the parallels between the processes of casting and photography, each 'taking the surface of one thing and putting it on another'.