Timothy Belknap received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from Tyler School of Art. His personal work has recently been exhibited in both Philadelphia and New York City, and featured in WHYY’s NewsWorks Tonight.

He is currently a member of Tycho and the Director of the Icebox Project Space at Crane Arts. Within the last year, he has curated and collaborated with over 100 artists. These exhibitions have garnered attention in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the St. Claire, Title Magazine, Philadelphia Citypaper, and ArtNews.

Over the last 10 years, Belknap’s work has explored identity, politics, religion, and the human condition using the body as a vehicle. Belknap’s recent installation, Chum, sets up a situation where bottom and top constantly reinscribe the reality of the space. The Panopticon-like opening in the ceiling encircled by the feet of unseen bodies leaves us wondering who is watching whom and who is in control.

The title of the piece, Chum, refers not only to an affectionate greeting among friends, but also to the cast off bits of fish used as bait to attract other larger–often predatory–fish. The installation forces the viewer to challenge ideas of power when the viewer’s body becomes an obstacle to the drifting sphere in the room.