Rafael Gamo

Island
2020, Archival Pigment Print, 9 x 19.5 inches. 

“With the lockdown, my field of action was constrained to a NYC apartment, putting my modus operandi on hold. Looking for new spaces to explore, my gaze turned towards the unexplored areas of the domestic environment. A portable microscope became my new lens, and the objects that surround me turned into unexpected destinations. When your house expands into your entire universe, you can wander through its microscopic landscapes. The exploration of an old 4x5 negative resulted in the extraction of the word ‘island’ that was lost in the film’s grain. As in Ed Ruscha’s work, text is taken out of context, creating a new standalone image that, coincidentally, resonates with the isolation we are all going through.”

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Ed Ruscha

Miniature America
1982, dry pigment on paper, 58 1/2 x 38 3/4 inches.

“I like the idea of a word becoming a picture, almost leaving its body, then coming back and becoming a word again.”
(quote via artnet)

Katy McCarthy

Oh Ok We Don't Know Her First Name That's Fine
2020, single-channel video, sound, 5:44 min.
 
“On Saturday January 14th 2017, one week before Donald Trump would be inaugurated President of the United States, I went to the closing auction of the Hall of Presidents Wax Museum in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. At the wax museum I fixated on the first ladies, who were all 1/3 scale (as opposed to the full-sized wax presidents). The footage I took at the wax museum is framed through first lady portraits that the first ladies have been cut out of.”

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