Bower Power is a 14 foot diameter sphere constructed of scrap wood, all of which was found in the artist's studio shortly before the East Austin Studio Tour 2017. Virtually every piece of this wood has been used previously in at least one project. Several pieces have been used and reused in dozens of previous projects. In Bower Power, these repurposed materials come together to make an accoustical anomaly that feels sonicly and conceptually separate from the hustle and noise of the rest of the studio complex.
"EAST is a strange event in that it was originally designed to give a behind the scenes look into the artists' processes, yet, artists are notoriously cagey when it comes to their own practices, privacy, and judgment on in-progress work. Thus, much of the tour, if not all, becomes highly curated and staged. As artists, we have an all-to-clear understanding of the power of aesthetics and image, and very few of us would be willing to show exactly how the sausage is made, what a mess our studios normally are in, or any piece of work we weren't yet completely sure was ready for the public. Bower Power is a visual analogy for some of these qualities you might find in an artist. Like the Bowerbird, we are trying to attract something (you, deep thinking, clout, money) with the things we create, but there's also inherent distance, an intentional introversion that we create with the work; 'see the work, don't see me'. Bower Power is both sanctuary and barrier — the viewer sees labor, time, design, and history in an elegant shape, but through the cracks the actual studio might be peered into even if still out of reach. There may be some sign of the hidden workings of the artist for those curious and willing to look harder."
-Seth Orion Schwaiger
