As Light as Sand, as Heavy as Water

People often say balance is key to life, that diplomacy, negotiation, and finding the middle ground are veritable practices to live by. They engender a feeling of composure, stasis, and mediation of difference. But achieving balance is not a simple act; it often implies letting go of something. Still, this notion is so commonplace in culture and readily agreed with that we rarely concern ourselves with the associated loss. Is seeking balance a worthy pursuit?

Andre Keichian’s installation A Grain of Matter in Relation (2024), as displayed at the Human Resources Gallery, confronts us with this ubiquitous question.