Body Politic

Five Years of BASEMENT: Group Exhibition

Opening Reception: Friday, July 5th at eno arts mill

437 Dimmocks Mill Rd #17, Hillsborough, NC 27278

Western philosophy defines the body politic as a collective entity imagined as a metaphorical physical body—an embodied system, ideology, or practice. In celebration of the 5th anniversary since the formation of BASEMENT Art Space, an alternative, experimental, and socially-oriented artist collective, Body Politic exhibits the work of the art space’s current members. Collectively, the work of these artists has been the catalyst and genesis of change, growth, and the evolution of BASEMENT.

This installation contemplates bodies as evidence of politics, colonialism, philosophy, and absurdity. Chieko Murasugi reimagines the traditional Japanese kimono, crafting it with cheesecloth which once wrapped napalm dropped by the United States on Japan during World War II. Chloé Rager collects remnants and evidence of the body’s presence, filling pothole cavities, gathering queered fragments, and archiving signs of our existence. Laura Little examines the body from a medicinal perspective, mining medical archives to create dystopian and liminal perspectives on the US medical system. Her collages and altered readymades envision alternative paths for healing the body. Jonh Blanco, an undisciplined artist, employs the body to render useful things useless. Clumping, leaning onto, attaching, and stacking objects, they narrate discomfort, fear, and confinement. Hồng-Ân Trương delves into the archive to explore the lived experiences of the refugee and immigrant narrative. Collectively, these artists materialize the discomfort from our bodies as products or manifestations of US colonialism and failed systems.

This exhibition is curated by Julianne Miao in collaboration with Jonh Blanco, Laura Little, Chieko Murasugi, Chloé Rager, and Hồng-Ân Trương.