Parallel
curated Teresa Bramlette Reeves
Parallel, was conceived in response to our recent lived experiences and inspired by a This American Life episode about a phone app called the Universe Splitter. Marketed as tool for achieving a truly random result to a binary question, the app is based on the quantum mechanics theory of MWI (Many Worlds Interpretation). MWI advocates suggest that because the behavior of subatomic particles is unpredictable, unlimited permutations create infinite worlds and infinite versions of us. The Universe Splitter allows users to input two possible solutions to a particular problem and then click “Split.” A signal is ostensibly sent to a laboratory in Switzerland where a single photon gets hurled towards a splitter. The returned “answer” doesn’t choose an outcome, but rather it reports which universe you are living in depending on your choice of action.
While the physics community continues to debate the existence of multiverse theories, the idea of determining one’s world through action seems particularly apt. During the on-going pandemic we’ve seen people and tasks divided between essential and non-essential. The protests, which seek to alter the different realities lived by Black Americans and other marginalized communities, call for urgent political, social, or institutional change. Despite the increased polarization evidenced in the Trump era, many Americans are now coming together to fight for an end to systematic inequality and abuse of power.
The title for this show is intended to acknowledge lives lived in shared time and space but within entirely different realities. The artworks reflect this idea of splintered worlds and explores ways in which competing perceptions and narratives overlap and combine.
Participating artists include: Dave Armistead, William Downs, Diane Hiscox, Jessica Scott-Felder, Tim Flowers, Shanequa Gay, Melissa Huang, Sonya Yong James, Wihro Kim, George Paul Kornegay, Juan Logan, J B Murray, Guadalupe Navarro, Yanique Norman, Maryam Palizgir, Madeline Pieschel, Judy Rushin, Kourtney Stone, Kirstie Tepper, Zipporah Camille Thompson, Johnathan Welsh and Jessica Wohl.
Untitled
J B Murray
ink on paper
Private collection, NFS
Study for Spirit is a Bone
Sonya Yong James 2020
Wood, bed sheets, linen,
silk, pigment and mixed
media
18 x 9 x 8 inches
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Study for Biplicity
Sonya Yong James 2020
Handmade rope, paper, silk, encaustic
35 x 8 x 6 inches
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Simultaneous Variation (Folded Mystery series)
Maryam Palizgir 2018
Holographic foil, fiberglass screen, plexiglas mirrored box
8 1/2 × 13 × 4 inches
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Not Stuck in a Briar Patch
William Downs 2020
Ink wash and spray paint on paper
30 x 22.5 inches
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White America
Jessica Wohl 2016
Found fabrics, bed sheets, shirts and pillowcases. Machine pieced and machine quilted with raw edge and reverse appliquè
60 x 60 inches
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When Grandpa Lived with Us, Recollection 3
Kourtney Stone 2019
Earthenware, wooden couch foot, wax, couch fabrics, windbreaker jacket, hospital gown, teddy bear, oxygen tubing, glass
12 x 7 x 11 inches
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All Eyes On Me
Shanequa Gay 2020
Mixed media on paper
22 x 30 inches
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When Grandpa Lived with Us, Recollection 4
Kourtney Stone 2019
Earthenware, wood from dining room chairs, wax, trim from dining room, carpet, plastic basket, plastic necklace, glass
12 x 13 x 20 inches
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Multiverse Suites: Blue Suppurations III
Yanique Norman 2020
Acrylic, silver ink, iridescent medium, colored xerox and collage on Khadi paper
26 inch diameter
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Multiverse Suites: Blue Suppurations I
Yanique Norman 2020
Acrylic, silver ink, iridescent medium, colored xerox and collage on Khadi paper
24 inch diameter
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Multiverse Suites: Blue Suppurations IV
Yanique Norman 2020
Acrylic, silver ink, iridescent medium, colored xerox and collage on Khadi paper
26 inch diameter
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Multiverse Suites: Blue Suppurations II
Yanique Norman 2020
Acrylic, silver ink, iridescent medium, colored xerox and collage on Khadi paper
26 inch diameter
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La Nubé (The Cloud)
Zipporah Camille Thompson 2018
Stoneware, glazes, oxides, antlers, luster, sequins, rope
16 x 16 x 10 inches
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La Sombra (The Shadow, The Shade)
Zipporah Camille Thompson 2018
Stoneware, glazes, luster, plastic, tape
17 x 10 x 10 inches
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Untitled (figure)
George Paul Kornegay
Wood, paint, black tape
70 x 3 x 13 inches
Private collection, NFS
Waiting
Juan Logan 2015
Silkscreen
Dimensions vary
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Faux-Tag (JT)
Tim Flowers
Oil on panel
16 x 16 inches
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Considering Knot Theory #2
Tim Flowers
Oil on panel
24 x 20 inches
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Considering Knot Theory
Tim Flowers
Oil on panel
24 x 20 inches
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The High Chairs
Jessica Scott-Felder 2013
Varied Dimensions
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(And then she said) … and then the dragons swooped in to collect the virus
Kirstie, Cole, and Amelia Tepper 2020
House paint on panel
12 x 12 x ½ inches
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(And then he said) … with the virus contained, the dragons carried it away
Kirstie, Cole, and Amelia Tepper 2020
House paint on panel
12 x 12 x ½ inches
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First Machine (45 second home video transcript of homemade flower catapult)
Kirstie, Cole, and Amelia Tepper 2020
Digital prints and tape
Dimensions variable
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Wish
Sonya Yong James
2020
Horsehair and cotton rope
30x 4x 3 inches
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Multiverse Suites: Suppuration Addendum V (Systolic Blues)
Yanique Norman 2020
Acrylic, silver ink, iridescent medium, colored xerox and collage on Khadi paper
30 inch diameter
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sounds of MOVEMENT
Madeline Pieschel 2020
Two speaker sound installation, stereo audio track on loop, 13:00 minutes
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