White Hot Lamp Black

Carrie Hott, Dario Robleto, Laura Steenberge, Hillary Wiedemann, Jeremiah Barber with Ingrid Rojas Contreras

White Hot Lamp Black

Opening Reception: February 7, 2014, 7:00–9:00 PM
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 12:00–6:00 PM

Organized by Southern Exposure's Curatorial Committee

The artists in White Hot Lamp Black investigate the distant edges of our perception: shadows, bright light, dark space and deep holes. Using varied research-based practices, their work reimagines ways to visualize the unseeable or comprehend the fugitive. Like weekend scientists, their lines of inquiry organically develop according to the forking paths of divergent theories and individual associations with their subject matter.

Carrie Hott's video and shadow installations pull from extensive research into the history of blackouts and the genealogy of lamps. Her roughly handmade sculptural lamp forms draw stark shadows on the gallery walls, suggesting a clash between the 20th century embrace of scientific advances and our own anxious relationship to technology. On February 28, she helps lead Fathoming a Cave, an off-site investigation into echolocation with musician Laura Steenberge.

Hillary Wiedemann uses images of sunsets on Mars shot by the Spirit and Opportunity Rovers, presenting the familiar orb of the sun through multiple layers of mediation. Focusing on the methods by which we attempt to understand the world around us, she also presents a video of light glitches created by a telescopic lens ground by her grandfather.

Photographs by Dario Robleto seem to be pictures of deep space taken by the Hubble Telescope, but are actually images of stage lights taken by fans at various concerts. Robleto’s work often involves a dramatic transformation of one material into another, allowing the new form to retain the aura of the prior. As photographs, the dual references point to the wonder both types of stars inspire.

Jeremiah Barber's endurance-based performances pull mirror images and body doubles out of darkness. On Friday, February 21, Barber combines forces with partner Ingrid Rojas Contreras to create Other Half Orbit, a new piece in a pool of water in Southern Exposure’s gallery. Documentation of the performance will be on display as part of the project after February 21.

Pushing up against the boundaries of our perceptual capabilities, the artists in White Hot Lamp Black consider the generative and transformative properties in reflections, negative spaces, individual shadows and cultural echoes.