EXHIBITIONS/PAST/CURRENT/UPCOMING
|
JESSALYN AALAND + LILA TAFF" width="695" height="682"/>
March 9 – April 21, 2013 Reception Saturday, March 9, 2013 6 – 8PM PRESS Swarm Gallery is pleased to present “Thank You For your Waiting,” a solo exhibition by Jessalyn Aaland, on view from March 9 - April 21, 2013. An installation titled “Behavioral Patterns” by Lila Taff is presented in the project space. Jessalyn Aaland uses collage to critique the notion of power and how we use space. How is space regulated and controlled for specific purposes? What are the possibilities? Harnessing her childhood interest in imaginary and unreal spaces, Aaland uses antiquarian paper materials and stickers to create a vision of how space could be arranged and organized for optimal purpose. From talking circles to caves, islands of junk to deserted plains, private living rooms to public stone patios, Aaland’s collages allow the viewer to imagine narratives of space which are both historically accepted and radically alternative, and sometimes awkward. In her DIY Safe Space series, Aaland presents talking circles, or spaces in which participants openly, honestly and safely share their preoccupations of a particular subject. Images of chairs are arranged in circles, situated atop a ring of alarmingly bright and joyous flowers or within quirkily decorated modernist rooms. These constructed spaces often become abstracted, if not simultaneously deconstructed, by Aaland’s use of white, negative space. The amalgam of furniture and personal ephemera of the implied participants and sitters, both joyful and empty, offers a moment of contemplation in which one is able to digest Aaland’s balancing act between the two. Lila Taff has always been an architect. The primary medium of her work is space. Her desire to engage with the world is perpetually in the form of a question. By building interactive spaces, she is able to investigate how environment can foster connection and creativity. We are the playwrights of our own theaters, at every second constructing our own realities. It is up to us to see the world and it is up to us to take it. “Behavioral Patterns” challenges the notion of participation and connection by creating a feedback loop. It asks audience members to move from spectator to participant. The piece is an analogue to the world and illuminates the inevitability of creation and interaction.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES: Jessalyn Aaland is an artist, writer, and teacher based in West Oakland, California. As an artist, she works primarily in collage, using stickers and found paper materials to create landscapes of human and other communities. In addition to her works on paper, Jessalyn designs posters, album artwork, and installations. She publishes zines, dyes textiles using shibori methods, teaches English at a San Francisco public high school, and occasionally performs improvised vocal music. Jessalyn was thoroughly disappointed upon discovering that the opening line of Max Roach’s “Driva’ Man” is not, “The beach has an exciting history,” as she had previously believed. Lila Taff is a designer formally trained in architecture. She uses photography and other mediums to explore how we engage with our environment. Taff received her BA in Architecture from UC Berkeley in 2010. She lives and works in Oakland, CA. This is her first project at Swarm Gallery. |
