Laird Campbell works from his studio in the Cowichan Valley, on the east coast of Vancouver Island, building abstract compositions from reclaimed and found wood. His practice is rooted in a sustained engagement with materials and ideas — with the way aged wood holds time, with the geometry that emerges when fragments are placed in relation to one another, and with the deeper questions about how meaning is made and transmitted between people. Pedagogy is the art of teaching — the practice of bringing knowledge from one mind into another, of finding the right form for an idea so that it can be received. 'Conversation (Pedagogy)' holds that dynamic: two presences in dialogue, the space between them charged with the effort of understanding. The wood pieces are arranged not as a single unified form but as a field of relation, each element in conversation with the others. It is a work about the difficulty and the necessity of being understood. This original work is a Wood Assemblage: a hand-built composition of reclaimed wood pieces. Close-up photography reveals the extraordinary grain and texture of the wood; the reverse is also displayed as part of the work. Medium: Original Wood Assemblage (reclaimed and found wood)Dimensions: 10 × 11.75"Display: Front and reverse both displayedAuthenticity: One-of-a-kind original; signed by the artist
