When: May 17 — July 6
Where: Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, College of Charleston, School of the Arts, 161 Calhoun St., Charleston, SC 29401
Price: Free
Tags: #immersiveart, #interactive, #kidfriendly, #MobilityAdvisory (see below)
Cry Joy Park — Gardens of Dark and Light investigates the history and social landscape of Charleston, a cultural capital of the American South, and an exemplar of its complex opulence and beauty. The exhibition creates an immersive, multi- sensory experience that explores the juxtaposition of utopia and dystopia. Cry Joy Park is part of a larger body of work that deals with the difficulty of reconciling opposing forces in our society. It follows the explorations that began with Paradise Interrupted, an installation opera conceived, designed, and directed by Ma, which made its world premiere at Spoleto Festival 2015, performed at Lincoln Center Festival, New York and continues to travel worldwide.
Walking into the Halsey gallery, one steps into the enveloping tangles of an oversized black garden, employing Ma’s signature visual language of honeycomb paper structures and cultivated chaos. Crawling vines and branches heavy with giant leaves and fruits are complimented by motion-sensored portions of the garden that introvertedly retreat when approached by the visitor. At the far end of the garden, one must push through a flower portal reminiscent of a botanical birth canal, emerging from darkness into the garden of light. Dark impenetrability gives way to shocking brightness, and comforting ambiguity is replaced with glaring clarity. Mirroring the responsive intelligence of the dark garden, portions of this cut-paper foliage move to greet visitors in extraverted display.
Two landscape paintings of ink-on-glass stand as walls to separate the gardens. The pictorial planes further the illusory landscape created by the gardens, while the paintings’ mirrored finish reflect the built environment, and places the viewer’s reflection within this constructed paradise.
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Office facilities provided by Thymele Arts, in Los Angeles, CA.
Contact Level: None
Content Advisories: None.
Visitors with mobility devices can certainly see the exhibition in full, but must take an alternate path behind the galleries to enter the Light Garden.
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