There is Only After
In this group exhibition I presented two works, We are the Safety Net and Uneven. Together they reflect on the porosity of social organization. Life under capitalism is precarious and often creates tenuous relationships between people and groups – boss to worker, neighbor to neighbor, community to community – all vying for space and seemingly constrained resources. But every so often the veil of capitalist realism is lifted, and competition transforms into collaboration. What happens when we shake hands with strangers and trust our loose ties?
Photography credit: Ryan Van Der Hout
We are the Safety Net
2023192’’ x 130’’ x 10’’
Ceramic imprints from The New School community handshakes, netting, trapeze bars, cables, hardware, gold leaf, paint, and blank legal paper
This archive of loose ties were made by community members at The New School who shook hands with a clay slab between them. The work considers the historic labor strike at The New School, one of the longest in higher education and first in a wave of increased union activity. The work is self balancing–if one element is removed it all comes crashing down. Its precarity is a reflection of life under capitalism.
Uneven
202310” x 31” x 6”
Steel, plaster
This work notices the various ways we communicate ideology in society. It was conceptualized around the time Trump followers were controversially using a one finger salute at the former presidents rallies. In the sculpture the hand gesture is paired with a raised fist, a symbol of solidarity that has been used by a range of leftist movements notably socialism, black lives, and unionization. The work contemplates how the difference in a few fingers can represent radically polarizing ideologies.
