In Chad Campbell's newest exhibition titled Strings Attached, viewers can see the familiar wiremen that Campbell is known for, but in this show, all of them are marionettes.
Each sculpture holds a narrative that seems to be about control, freedom, tensions, and togetherness. These themes all tie into the complexities that create the atmosphere of our modern times. Campbell addresses the choice to make each assemblage sculpture into a marionette: "In our modern times we all seem to be getting dragged in a certain direction by the forces that be and our communities around us."
In many of the sculptures, the figures and their environment tell a story of manipulation and liberation. "It's about getting together and throwing off the strings that are dragging us where they think we need to be and coming together as people and creating something new," says Campbell.
Campbell uses a variety of everyday found objects in his work, describing his medium as "stuff and things." For Strings Attached, Campbell transformed the craziest wood he could find: "I used a lot of very defiled pieces of wood; I picked out my grossest stuff. I wanted it to look like we are putting together the trash of the past and bringing it together to a breaking point. It relates to the theme of the day: Of taking the trash and shoving it into some kind of palatable form."
While there is some cynicism and skepticism in the title of Strings Attached, the work also reveals a sense of renewal, of giving new life to materials and renewing a sense of agency, of discovering a sense of power in togetherness.