DEVELOPING STORY
The tradition of gathering around the radio, television or other device(s) during historic moments has carried on from generation to generation. Inspired by current events, Developing Story references mass communication and the implications of the 24-hr news cycle with a series of screens that act in totality as both painting and silent time-based media.
This ongoing body of work began in 2018 during a wave of reporting surrounding the #MeToo movement: the topic was continuously discussed, yet overwhelmingly uninformative, repetitive, or without final conclusion. It appeared everything remained substantially the same. The black and white works made in response alluded to aspects of white noise, concealment, emptiness, and, most noticeably, quietness.
Expanding upon this notion to reflect on the cyclical nature of history portrayed through the media, 50 individual pieces inspired by speakers and televisions from the late 1890s to today populate a single wall of the Mesquite Arts Center Main Gallery. Using an amalgamation of materials ranging from various fabrics to readymade objects such as a dish scrubber, the tactile works together offer a familiar, physically felt experience. Each piece acts as a singular moment in time, though the story is part of a universal rerun, building the American landscape we know today year by year, case by case. Simultaneously, the largely dark works act in unison as a makeshift constructed altarpiece, becoming a holistic commentary on mass communication and subsequently transcending any one social movement.
Mixed media
40 ft. (L) x 1 ft. (W) x 8 ft. (H)
Exhibited at The Mesquite Arts Center
October 1 - December 28, 2019
