Installing Modern Restlessness

I had been in dialog with Chris Peters for some time before we finally settled on some April 2015 dates for a residency. During that time, we had discussed various projects and I had learned a lot in the exchange - one of my favorites was his idea of exploring apotropaic symbols and their application to the local environment including projecting eyes, potentially teary, onto the rocks behind the property. Time with Chris generally meant learning new terms, ideas, images - a part of his practice is to be reading every day and his interests range far and wide.

By the time Chris arrived, his mind had moved on and I discovered that he was going to undertake various new and continuing projects during his time at BoxoHOUSE and then created an installation that brought the ideas together. 



Chris started shooting various images around the property (some while standing on a ladder facing the large rock face); did a lot of online processing and ordering; went out to Amboy and beyond to further an ongoing project where artists create symbols on the side of a large berm; went looking for a field of glass said to be near the 29 Palms dump; made small castings and intermittently took road bike breaks in the National Park. I was somewhat challenged to imagine what might result.




Once Chris started to install, the pieces came together convincingly. After a mock debate about whether the structure used to exhibit in was a garage or a studio, Chris promptly pulled his car in, closed the rolling door and installed projections through the windscreen as well as sculptures in the trunk. The dichotomy was false, the structure was both. A large banner, a BoxoHOUSE calendar, a lithograph, video and several photographs completed the scene. The completed installation was a convincing pointer to modern nomadic existence / restlessness as well as the mediation of experience.



The open house was very well attended by the local community and elicited lively discussion, a bit of criticism and a lot more praise. Many thanks for Chris for spending time out in the desert, for his well received installation and for the planting of seeds for future projects.