English Kills Art Gallery is pleased to present “Past the Future & Beyond,” which combines documentation from Hiroshi Shafer’s most recent project regarding his relationship with other people, the world and the universe. This group of works exposes the invisible but unrecoverable connections between individuals and engages the viewer to consider the nature of our relationships, to overcome barriers and to undertake an empathetic exchange with the artist and everyone else. Ultimately, Shafer attempts to tickle a profound truth out of each person he encounters in each project. His props and costumes are tools that make it easier for people to share their personal truths with the public.
| Upon deeper consideration, the apparent humor in Hiroshi Shafer’s work turns to an unsettling awareness of the human condition. The generosity of a participatory, joyful experience is profoundly complicated in Hiroshi Shafer’s work. A gift is not an inert object, but piles a multitude of expectations and demands on the receiver, tying the receiver/giver/object in mutual discomfort. Participation requires expenditure, possibly exhaustion, but the alternative is darkness. A toy becomes an instrument of maintenance that demands constant renewal. Leisure and work combine in a single experience that keeps us in tension and engagement.
In order to overcome grief and become a playful and likable creature, like a sea otter, one must destroy and consume one’s savior. Our illusion of happiness is predicated upon the infliction of pain, but it is a pain that we desire. The sea otter searches the beach for directions from others on how to survive in her new role, in the end finding a mate to help her kill others. |
English Kills Art Gallery
114 Forrest St. Ground Floor Brooklyn, NY 11206 Gallery Hours: Sat to Sunday, 1-7pm
718.366.7323 info@englishkillsartgallery.com
