FICTIONAL HISTORIES
Fictional Histories
Employing Manzanar as a starting place, Fictional Histories explores the connections between the city of San Francisco and arcane mythology and prophecy from various cultures. Roberts offers clues to understanding the responsibility of historical analysis and the layers of interpretation placed upon the Object.
Roberts re-presentation of historical ‘artifacts’ allows the viewer to unearth layers of meaning within each piece. Narratives of internment and propaganda, Dante’s Gates of the Inferno, Sultan Suleiman I’s attempts to forestall the apocalypse, are accessible for excavation. Roberts is both storyteller and artist in this tribute to what is legacy and what is dust.
Employing Manzanar as a starting place, Fictional Histories explores the connections between the city of San Francisco and arcane mythology and prophecy from various cultures. Roberts offers clues to understanding the responsibility of historical analysis and the layers of interpretation placed upon the Object.
Roberts re-presentation of historical ‘artifacts’ allows the viewer to unearth layers of meaning within each piece. Narratives of internment and propaganda, Dante’s Gates of the Inferno, Sultan Suleiman I’s attempts to forestall the apocalypse, are accessible for excavation. Roberts is both storyteller and artist in this tribute to what is legacy and what is dust.
Zachary Roberts
A Natural Experiment of History, 2015
Terrarium of excavated earth from Manzanar, CA, desert sage, fluorescent lighting, mirrors, and performance ephemera
Composed of several plots of earth taken from the Manzanar area, A Natural Experiment of History reintegrates the land to create a new narrative. The piece takes its title from the Jared Diamond essay on the fates of human societies and it stands as a testament to performance and process of the creative act.
What is striking about A Natural Experiment of History is its intentional lack of the guayule plant. Once harvested by the Japanese prisoners at Manzanar to support the U.S. war effort’s need for rubber, the piece reflects how the land has been reclaimed by Nature and the history overwritten by time.
A Natural Experiment of History, 2015
Terrarium of excavated earth from Manzanar, CA, desert sage, fluorescent lighting, mirrors, and performance ephemera
Composed of several plots of earth taken from the Manzanar area, A Natural Experiment of History reintegrates the land to create a new narrative. The piece takes its title from the Jared Diamond essay on the fates of human societies and it stands as a testament to performance and process of the creative act.
What is striking about A Natural Experiment of History is its intentional lack of the guayule plant. Once harvested by the Japanese prisoners at Manzanar to support the U.S. war effort’s need for rubber, the piece reflects how the land has been reclaimed by Nature and the history overwritten by time.
Zachary Roberts
Trinity, 2015
Bronze
This highly detailed model of energy in its purest state is taken from the nuclear fission process just nanoseconds after detonation. It represents a force that can be creative, life sustaining, and destructive all in one. With allusions to several cultures godheads, Trinity also directly references the components shipped from San Francisco that would later be the first atomic bomb dropped in wartime, Little Boy. The precious quality of Trinity also suggests connections to the famed city of gold, El Dorado, and represents the ephemeral nature of Man’s quest for power.
Trinity, 2015
Bronze
This highly detailed model of energy in its purest state is taken from the nuclear fission process just nanoseconds after detonation. It represents a force that can be creative, life sustaining, and destructive all in one. With allusions to several cultures godheads, Trinity also directly references the components shipped from San Francisco that would later be the first atomic bomb dropped in wartime, Little Boy. The precious quality of Trinity also suggests connections to the famed city of gold, El Dorado, and represents the ephemeral nature of Man’s quest for power.
Zachary Roberts
Golden Gate, 2015
Bronze
Golden Gate not only directly references the iconic San Francisco span that is visually synonymous with the City of the Seven Hills itself, but also alludes to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which, prior to the completion of the bridge in San Francisco, was the terms primary reference. In Judeo-Christian tradition, it is the gate through which the messiah is expected to pass (hearkening the End of Days in Christian theology). In 1541 CE the Ottoman Sultan sealed up the gate to prevent this scenario and it’s twin arches have stood that way since. Coincidentally, it was under the bridge that the main components for the first wartime atomic bomb, Little Boy, were shipped, hearkening the Atomic Age.
Golden Gate, 2015
Bronze
Golden Gate not only directly references the iconic San Francisco span that is visually synonymous with the City of the Seven Hills itself, but also alludes to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which, prior to the completion of the bridge in San Francisco, was the terms primary reference. In Judeo-Christian tradition, it is the gate through which the messiah is expected to pass (hearkening the End of Days in Christian theology). In 1541 CE the Ottoman Sultan sealed up the gate to prevent this scenario and it’s twin arches have stood that way since. Coincidentally, it was under the bridge that the main components for the first wartime atomic bomb, Little Boy, were shipped, hearkening the Atomic Age.
Independance Court House
10'' x 10''
Lead paint over coaster
Scene No. 1
59'' x 100''
Oil on canvas
Gate Detail
120'' x 62'' x 35''
Pure cast lead, steel scaffold
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