Third Space [2024]
Third Space was a solo show in the garden of the Arts Club Chicago, comprising a suite of poetic interventions to the garden courtyard. United by a primary color scheme of red, yellow, and blue, these sculptural and auditory works share the format of two-sidedness, as in a fence or an angle. The gestures try to make us aware of the oppositionality of “us and them” by changing our attention. We are interrupted as we walk past or around the garden by unexpected appearances—a tree trunk turned sculptural, a change in color for a familiar structure, hand-crafted ceramic decor that might be accidental, or the sound of a tennis match with no clear source. Viewers are subtly invited to cross “soft borders” or boundaries and thereby make an active choice to align themselves in new ways.
Zearfoss consciously works with eco-neutral, organic, and otherwise climate-conscious materials to minimize their impact and waste. In an increasingly divided culture, Zearfoss seeks to engage the possibility that we could choose not to take sides, but instead would create a “third space” where binaries are not the norm.
