Grant Us Serenity [2022]
Made especially for the exhibition “For Each Other” at Gallery 400, this installation explores synergy and aesthetic pleasure across seemingly opposing impulses of self-care: the desire to be in wilderness and the desire to be cradled by domestic space; the desire for solitude and the desire for communion; the potential of meditative space and the possibility of magic and surprise.” Grant Us Serenity continues my efforts to trouble binary thinking by playfully disarming cultural symbols through the poetic misuse of common materials. An undercurrent also pulses as I ask, “Can art be both visionary and reflective? Can the imaginative powers of abstraction penetrate the political powers of representation, and vice versa, back and forth?” Additionally, Grant Us Serenity is an offering to the audience, an indeterminate space to find simple pleasures and vibe out.
Life is hard. Like just really hard. But pleasure reminds us that not every aspect of life needs to be heavy. I think noticing what feels good - in a deep and embodied way - is often a reliable north star for principled people who desire to live true to their values. In this way, pleasure is not only a space of reprieve, but a powerful re-invigorator for those who are in the trenches trying to actualize a more just and liberated future that we need and deserve.
