Surface-Things

‘Surface-things’ written by Della Gooden

It could be said that surface exists to give favour; that it is only there so that something else can be there too. I can see that my pencil is resting on the surface of my notepad, which is on the surface of the table, which is on the surface of the floor, and so on… Is the surface of each of these things an entirely separate, identifiable component, sort of bolted onto the outside? Or is surface innate and indistinguishable from the whole?

Either way, ‘surface-things’ (like my notepad and the table) are obliged by mutual arrangement to be both parasite and host and I can’t help wondering where it all ends. Is there an ultimate ‘surface-thing’ holding everything up at the bottom… the Earth’s crust? Or is there a toppling, Dr Seuss-like tower of ‘surface-things’ descending on forever and ever through the universe? 

These fanciful visions cue the provident realisation that I don’t particularly care what’s holding up the floor. I only care that it is sober with horizontality; that it is solid, flat, dependable and always there. If on waking in the morning there was some doubt about that, it would be a terrifying prospect and I would never get out of bed again.

‘Surface’, it seems, is a trusted gatekeeper between an inside and everything else; it protects and contains, separates and provides stability. Architecture and the built environment appropriate these qualities to good purpose and consequently, I have expectations of vertical surfaces too. I expect the walls in my home to give privacy and security by way of their opacity and solidity. They ensure that my neighbours can’t watch me eat my dinner or sit at my table un-invited – the walls go about their business complementarily as I go about mine. 

However, to the resourceful mind such vertical surfaces present enigmatic potential. The urge to climb over a wall, peek behind curtains or open closed doors can lead to the disclosure of unpredicted intelligence. Any such investigative approaches (whether carefully planned, or hapless) can uncover wondrous things, as well as shocking secrets and awful truths; discoveries like these turn the world. 

Perception and the imagination attend to the vertical, visual field, with hope, anticipation and curiosity, and the rewards (or disappointments) can be immense. Consequently, looking down isn’t half so exciting as looking up. Look up at the cinema screen, gaze out of the window. Stare back at the stare. 

Always look up. Watch the sunset and, of course, look at paintings: let the world in – only then can your consciousness surge with joy (or recoil in disgust). 

© Della Gooden 2018

‘Surface-Things’ by Della Gooden. Commissioned by the curator of the exhibition ‘Transforming Surfaces’, Richard Bell and one of the participating artists, GR Thomson. It was one of 4 introductory texts to the catalogue for the show.

‘Transforming Surfaces’ ISBN:9781789260892
Published by Arthouse1 London