Erin Shirreff’s diverse body of work, which includes photography, video, and sculpture, is united by her interest in the ways we experience three-dimensional forms in an age in which our perception is almost invariably mediated by still and moving images. Her work explores the gap between objects and their representations, and the materials (and materiality) of image-making.
Shirreff is well-known for her photographic series entitled “A.P.”, which expanded outwards to the related “Fig.”, “Monograph”, and “Relief” series. These photographs began with Shirreff’s construction of mid-century, modernist forms at an intimate scale, made from quotidian studio materials such as foam core, cardboard, or hydrostone. These small sculptures were then photographed and digitally spliced to conjoin two halves of different objects, in essence creating photographic documentation of a sculpture that does not exist physically. Once photographed, these small-scale objects resemble monumental sculpture or architecture.

Maquette (A.P. no 10), 2019
Bronze
19.75 x 7.875 x 15.875 inches (50.2 x 20 x 40.3 cm)

Still, 2019
Color video, silent
39 minutes, looped

Catalogue, 39 parts (Value Lesson), 2015
Hydrostone, pigment, graphite, steel armatures
Objects: 57 x 65.25 x 53 inches (144.8 x 165.7 x 134.6 cm)
Pedestal: 8 x 68 x 53.25 inches (20.3 x 172.7 x 135.3 cm)
Overall: 65 x 68 x 53.25 inches (165.1 x 172.7 x 135.3 cm)

Bronze (Slivka, Burckhardt, Busch, Laocoön), 2018
Dye sublimation
84.375 x 102.375 x 5.75 inches (214.3 x 260 x 14.6 cm)

Lacquer, clips and stack, 2018
Dye sublimation and archival pigment prints
88.25 x 37.25 inches (224.2 x 94.6 cm)

Drop (no. 14), 2015
Hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and Cor-ten steel
Installed dimensions: 117.25 x 214.5 x 34 inches (297.8 x 544.8 x 86.4 cm)

Relief (no. 1), 2015
Archival pigment print
73.125 x 45.25 x 5.75 inches (182.9 x 106.7 x 16.6 cm), with fold

Monograph (no. 3), 2012
Archival pigment prints
Set of 5 prints: 34 x 46 inches (86.4 x 116.8 cm) each, with fold

Sculpture Park (Tony Smith, Amaryllis), 2006/2013
16mm film
8 minutes, 43 seconds, loop

Sculpture for Snow, 2011
Painted aluminum
136.5 x 54 x 115.5 in.
Installation view:
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
Photo: Cathleen Chaffee