AIM AT BASE OF FIRE
2022-2023
Altered Fire Extinguishers, Red Floor Runner, Stainless Steel Extinguisher, Heating Element
10'x 10'x 14'
The fire extinguisher, an object that can be found laying dormant in almost any interior residential or commercial space, serves its primary function but more often fights fear rather than the danger itself.
For this exhibition, six custom-fabricated fire extinguishers, welded and painted with great attention to detail, line either side of the wall. At the center, a crimson altar permits visitors to kneel at its base. Above, an engraved stainless steel extinguisher contrasts the glossy red of the surrounding extinguishers. As an offering of comfort, a pair of open palms carved into its base offer a modest amount of heat when touched. Free from any overt reference to any specific religion, Dobbins instead looks to how interior spaces, spiritual or institutional or domestic, use signifiers of perceived safety through a language of mass-produced objects and symbols.
