P = Probability of Accident
B = Burden of Precautions
L = Gravity of Loss
c. = Economically Efficient Outcome: minimum expense for precautions that carries an acceptable level of risk.
A logical calculus governs the space of accident. A variable built into the mismatching between layers––the chemical-biological, the infrastructural-architectural, the legal-financial.
An algorithm set inside a set of brackets to contain spillage. Industry and injury are necessary partners.
A laissez-faire accident can easily be accounted for. Perverse intentionality is more difficult and requires higher premiums. Terrorism, war and acts of God are in the same category for insurance purposes––exceptions beyond the scope of probability. Accidents beyond the accidental.
A functional mismatch, a hiccup in one layer can launch a cascade of events “downstream” like a slip n’ fall multiplied by medical malpractice and raised to the power of corporate malfeasance.
The atmosphere––the background of such events––is composed of the sum of its own quantum-thermal variations. Air in a black box.
* Special thanks to Cecelia Weaver of DeWitt Stern Insurance and Risk Advisory
Marte Eknæs (b.1978, Norway) lives and works in Berlin. Past solo exhibitions include “Perpendicular Picture” at Susanne Hilberry Gallery, Detroit; “Arranged for Effect” at the Trondheim Kunstmuseum, Norway; “Escalate” at Between Bridges, London. Eknæs’ work derives from the urban built environment, utilizing functional objects and appropriated strategies. Her exhibitions are often temporary site specific installations, integrating the architectural context into her work. Her book Formal Economy was released by Mousse Publishing this spring and her collaborative project Boom! with Nicolau Vergueiro is currently on view at Rise Projects, London.
Sean Raspet (b.1981, Washington, DC), lives and works in Los Angeles. Recent solo exhibitions include “Deformulation” at Societé, Berlin; a two-person exhibition at Chateau Shatto with Kelly Akashi; and “Residuals” at Jessica Silverman,
San Francisco. Raspet’s practice engages the fluid materiality of industrial production and financial abstraction, often employing chemicals such as artificial flavorings and synthetic gases. His work has previously been exhibited in New York at ROOM EAST, The Artist’s Institute, and The Kitchen. He is the founder of Air-Variable, a scent fabrication company.
For downloadable exhibition material, click here.
