Liz Rodda: Impressions

OPENING RECEPTION FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 6 - 8 PM _______________________________________________ The works in Impressions are the result of considering the hazy border between self-preservation and self-destruction. The sculpture, Concussion Repercussion, consists of a mud mask constructed to resemble those made and worn by the Asaro Mudmen of Papua New Guinea. The mask sits beside an aluminum lounge chair that stylistically recalls an era when many Americans learned about travel and exotic worlds through National Geographic and Playboy. In other projects, the carcinogenic but alluring nature of household materials like hair dye quietly slip in. Painted onto posters of exotic, barren landscapes, hair dye stains the paper in a pattern that mimics a chain-link fence or a trellis. The issue of hair appears again in the video Bob & Weave, which features endlessly scrolling waves of blonde locks. The audio for the piece takes its cue from Chopped and Screwed, a technique that involves remixing hip-hop music by slowing the tempo dramatically. In this case, Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off is reduced to half of the original speed. The works in Impressions are intended to destabilize modes of representation and challenge entrenched social conventions surrounding common definitions of beauty, femininity and the search for affirmation. Bio Liz Rodda is an artist and Assistant Professor at Texas State University. Her work has been screened and exhibited nationally and internationally at spaces including the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami; the Anthology Film Archives in NYC; Vox Populi Gallery, Philadelphia and Schwartz Gallery in London. Recent and upcoming residencies include Fountainhead, Miami, FL; Wassaic Artist Residency, Wassaic, NY; and Takt Kunstprojektraum in Berlin, Germany. She currently lives and works in Austin, TX.