Our Vernissage

If you lived here, you'd be home by now.

After spending the last year in a new country, the idea of what 'home' is, and more importantly, 'where' home is, has become increasingly complicated for former New York based artists Ashley Benzwie and Jessica Snidersich.

A shadow edits the current moment while a static image captures a manipulation of a memory. Ashley's objective was to procure a photo of nearly every home connected to her, beginning with the childhood homes of German grandparents up until her current residency. This included not only places that she actually lived in, but also homes of old friends and family members where she spent a considerable amount of time. This entailed reconnecting with those whom she lost touch with to obtain such images. As Ashley did not inform the speaker that she was recording until after the conversation had taken place, conversations are often awkward and uneasy. Ashley presents us with a compilation of moments extracted from these conversations.

Furthering a previous exploration, blurring the lines between what exists in a private sphere and what belongs in the public domain is an additional theme in Jessica's work. How a space, or the objects in a space, function is a perpetual question concerning the comforts, or lack there of, that come from each place. Jessica provides us with a thorough investigation of a sense of disorientation and upheaval surrounding ideas about home, placement, and displacement.

The two pieces are linked thematically, but evoke varied sensations and experiences. Ashley feeds us a dose of longing nostalgia with a tinge of chaos. The piece is physically intricate and almost overwhelming, while focusing attention on a single image induces a kind of stillness. Jessica on the other hand, weaves subtly underhand sentiments into elements of beauty and comfort. We are reminded of home and its contents, and then jolted into a far less secure reality wrought with uncertainty and fragility.

Pillows and monitor are from Jess's installation, the photo/wood installation is mine.  Then there is the listening room where one can listen to my conversation excerpts photographed as well.