Tim Simonds

Tim Simonds lives and works in New York (US).

In a world of incoherent phonemes, articulation is something applied—something unseen, unexpected, and unfounded. My work emerges in moments caught between selfishness and altruism. I see this entanglement as playing a role not only in my own being and care for others but also in the relationships between individuals and institutions, as well as within architectural cultures, food, and health. I create objects, stage scenarios, and perform texts that treat objects, bodies, space, and written language as interchangeable, illustrating the desire to care for and control both oneself and others. My practice tends to question the branding of wellness, bodily maintenance methods, and relationships in child-rearing. I use materials and images that appear homogeneous, such as processed deli meats, hair conditioners, cat litter, Grape-Nuts™ cereal, baby fat, aluminum, and potatoes.

Tim Simonds earned his Master’s in Performance Studies (2013) and a dual Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Performance Studies (2011) from Brown University. In recent years, he has taught design theory and writing in architecture and sculpture at Pratt Institute. His solo and group exhibitions, performances, and collaborations include In Corners at Cathouse FUNeral (2015); limb at Water Street Studio (2014); House of Orange, organized by Wilma Projects (2016); High Density, Oblique Function, curated by Tabitha Piseno at Proxy (2015); Losing Oneself Without Getting Lost, curated by Jordan Carter at A+E Studios (2015); MYMEOGRAPH and Deux Vacances, as part of Transient Theme, a month-long opera by Bethany Ides at Knockdown Center (2014); and And Learn to Make a Body of a Limb, a performance within the installation Gymnasia 4:00 AM by Goldberg/Hertz/Peters/Schrader at Cleopatra (2013).

He has also shared critical essays such as “The Limbs of Language: Prepositions as an Architectural Medium” at the Embodying Cognition symposium (2016) at Pratt Institute; “Parts of Speech” (2015), presented at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; “The Burrow: Architecture as the Medium of Passing” at the Performing Philosophy symposium (2014) at Brown University; and “The Architecture of the Burrow” at the Performing Architecture symposium (2012) at Princeton University.