S.E. Nash
They/ Them/ Their
February 13, 2016- March 16, 2016
Opening reception and kimchi demonstration: February 13, 6- 9pm
Closing and fermentation tasting: March 9, 6-9pm
They/ Them/ Their is a celebration of the multiplicity of being. It is a presentation of the actions and ingenuity of microbes: an attempt at de-emphasizing the human. The exhibition title refers to the artist’s use of plural gender pronouns as a reflection of symbiosis. That we are made of more microbial cells than human cells means that we are all a multiplicity: we are all they, them, and their and can use these pronouns to entangle uncomplicated notions of gender.
The exhibition features sculptures with edible components created in collaboration with microbes. Using vessels containing edible fermentation substrates, sculptures specific to each fermented food surround the vessels. Evocative of the fermentation process and life within, the sculptures build environments that call attention to human and non-human creative acts. During the exhibition, the fermentation sculptures will bubble, change color, and the presence of fermentation will be evident through all senses. At the opening event the artist will prepare kimchi for one sculpture, demonstrating the process and packing the fermentation jar as an inauguration of the exhibition. The closing event will consist of harvesting and tasting the sculptures. The ferments that have been brewing over the month span of time will be ready to eat and will be served to gallery visitors.
The exhibition will also feature a shelf where other NYC fermentation practitioners will show jars of their fermentation experiments, to be eaten at the closing event.
This is the artist’s first solo exhibition in New York City. Recent group shows include “Whizzer” and “12x12x12” at Black Ball Projects, “Thinking and Touching Time” at Ortega y Gasset Projects, “The Hovering Life” at kijidome gallery in Boston, MA, and “Obsolescence” at Curious Matter in Jersey City, NJ. Nash received an MFA in painting and printmaking from Yale University in 2005.