Laoshou Mountain in southwestern China was quarried for more than two decades. Shortly after the quarry’s closure, the Funnin County Forestry department decided to reconcile the barren mountainside with its surrounding foliage. The conclusion they reached was to paint the mountain. Workers sprayed the section of land a bright, vaguely chemical green, tracing the exact outline of the quarry. This decision, whether simply a dishonest attempt at “greening” or the result of a more substantial bureaucratic drama, presents a startlingly incongruous failure of representation, but also, perhaps, a development in the potential of authenticity and redescription. The true reasons behind Funnin County’s decision are largely unknown; however, they provide a methodology of well reasoned foolishness through which to view this exhibition.

The exhibition consists of the failed execution of a DIY design and the ensuing attempts to reconcile its deficiencies. A set of Adirondack furniture was mistakenly built out of drop ceiling tiles, accidentally broken, and then recast out of plastic to ensure its structural stability. This reformatting establishes a logic of compromise from which the rest of the work emerges. Each element appears in mediated and codependent forms, functioning ultimately as a staging of uncertainty.

Jakob Brugge (b. 1990, Los Angeles) Studied at Washington University in St. Louis and the Gerrit Rietveld Academie (Amsterdam, NL).

Opening: September 27th, 7—10pm
Exhibition on view from September 28th—2nd October (12pm-6pm daily)