In a brief conversation at Mercury 20 Gallery’s artist’s reception, Monika Mayer, the artist behind “Flow,” explained a dilemma. During the COVID-19 lockdown, she debated moving back to rural Germany. Pausing for effect before continuing, she laments a change of heart — her long-standing love for ocean proximity outweighed the temporary lockdown suffocation. Her anecdote is a testament to a soulful connection between woman and nature, but it also widens the lens.
Intimacy with the natural becomes apparent in “Flow,” a collage of contorted organic shapes and earthy undertones. The natural presence made clear by Mayer’s groundedness turns the once-inanimate sculptures and canvases into living, breathing organisms. In the room next to the freshly actualized artistic entities, Jessica Cadkin’s “A Small Body” experiments with a similar alive-ness through archived memories. Though separated by a concrete wall, the sister exhibits are undoubtedly intertwined via a wider artistic reference: ecosystem construction, whether manmade, natural, or a hybrid of the two.
“Flow” is an experiment in mixed-mediumism. When taking a few steps back and looking at the works collectively, there is an apparent structural fluidity — half being two-dimensional canvases and the other half three-dimensional sculptures. However, when stepping back forward to observe individual pieces, it’s clear that the medium experimentation goes beyond a structural front. Soft sculpture series are constructed of bicycle inner tubes stapled and zip-tied together, while canvases amalgamate coffee stains, embroidery thread, ink and acrylic paint.
The lockdown allusion is heavy in using home-good materials, but there’s a simultaneous nod to the natural. “A Balancing Act” is sculpted of literal earth, with handmade cotton knitted pieces hanging from dried bull kelp. Even the manmade materials seem like natural reckonings. Soft sculptures like “Night Crawlers” or “Two Years of Pandemic Lockdown” are trypophobic black masses that imitate natural phenomena such as beehives, coral or, more conceptually, an ecosystem.
“Flow” aims to create this ecosystem it references. A natural evolutionary train becomes apparent when walking through the exhibit — its progression imitates real-time environmental construction. Mayer grounds her ecosystem in building blocks like “Interconnected,” an organic expression of coffee stains and ink bubbles imitating the sculptural masses. Further in the exhibit, however, it blooms into “Flow #1, 2, and 3” as she adds bursts of green embroidery among the coffee and ink. “Thinking of Ruth” seems like a final form as green acrylic overtakes the canvas, indicating a fully evolved form.
Similarly, Cadkin’s “a small body” creates its own ecosystem in 8” by 8” wooden boxes hung on gallery walls. These backlit crates feature small viewing windows that observers can peer into and perhaps even place themselves within. Their contents: layered 35-millimeter slides from the 1950s through the 70s. The vacation photos found at an estate sale of a deceased dentist span various locations, including South America, Disneyland and Hawaii.
Though “Flow” builds an ecosystem of natural means, Cadkin builds “a small body”’s ecosystem from humanity. The exhibit is structured similarly to “Flow” in the sense that when experienced in motion, it takes on a world-building evolution. Three walls surrounding the exhibit harbor five boxes each, with a palpable distinction between each set.
The first depicts community in scenes of lounging beach vacationers with facial close-ups faded over. It’s no doubt voyeuristic, but not negatively so. Its intimate nature is potently sweet when considering yourself as part of the photographed community. The second set circumfuses natural biospheres to create new psychedelic ones. The third set toggles between the artificial, placing cars, airports, inns and malls on top of each other to form a futuristic dystopia. The three distinct themes are ingredients of Cadkin’s ecosystem — in world-building with them, she plays the role a Catholic God might in the seven days of creation.
In a way, both “Flow” and “A Small Body” continue a legacy while forming new ones, whether it be of human existence or natural continuity. If you need inspiration for your next world-building project, the exhibits are on display at Mercury 20 Gallery until March 23rd.