UNBOX

Installation, sculpture, public intervention

Unbox (2008) is an architectural sculpture created using characteristics “opposite” of those exemplifying a big box. The Unbox is built of locally sourced materials (including wood milled from Christensen’s home county in Ohio); it is entirely recycled and/or recyclable; it is modular, so pieces can be added/removed to fit different spaces. It can be expanded to a 3000 square foot structure, and then folded up into a box that is 10’x6’x6’ to easily fit in a truck. As the piece has traveled around the country, it has been transported 100% by recycled vegetable oil-powered trucks. The Unbox can be “booked” by public organizations from the locale during its time in the gallery for events related to sustainability, public space, public transportation, etc. It has been used by the “Rethinking the City Institute” of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh bike coalition, crafting clubs, organizations involved in historic preservation, and a sustainability-focused reading group during its time in the gallery.
The Unbox was a central component of the traveling solo exhibition, Your Town Inc., curated by Astria Suparak. The show premiered at the Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and was also exhibited at the Gallery at the Green Building in Louisville, and the Richmond Center for the Visual Arts in Kalamazoo.