Jane Ursula Harris’s visual essay of a show contemplates contemporary society’s headlong rush toward self-destruction and the remnants that may be left behind. The sculptures and photos from a range of artists provide examples both literal and otherwise.
Christian Holstad’s The Road to Hell Is Paved (Walgreens) is a drooping, soft-sculptural shopping cart that seems to sag under the weight of unchecked consumerism as it hangs on the wall. It manages to channel both Claes Oldenburg’s humor and Kiki Smith’s allusions to abjection.
Michael Ashkin’s color prints find pathos in a world choking on refuse. One image features a pink speedboat abandoned on shore like a memorial to happier, wetter days.
The most poetic moment comes courtesy of William Eggleston’s 1972 photograph of an oven interior. Through Eggleston’s lens, this mundane space becomes the alchemical intersection between raw and cooked, wild and cultured. Within the context of Harris’s show, it also depicts a threshold: an entrance into the maw of overconsumption that will eventually lead us to ruin.—Jennifer Coates