Daina Mattis I Wake
November 9-19, 2023
High Noon Gallery’s auxilary space, 136 Eldridge Street
A site-specific installation in conjunction with my solo show Forever Wild
Sourced antique decoys, power-washwd and fumigated driftwood, flock, lights, and camoflage shaped mirrors, dimensions variable
A pre-recorded audio guided nature walk started from the main exhibition at High Noon, 124 Forsyth Street and guides you to the installation at the auxilary space at 136 Eldridge Street.
“’Wake’ depicts a sort of return to the natural state of these decoys. I imagine putting them into a rock tumbler, the way driftwood gets churned and broken down against the natural elements of water, rocks, and sand. They have a call back to the wild; after all, they never really were ducks or rabbits.
I’m attempting to reconcile impermanence and loss in a culture that trivializes death. Unknown to most, the bathroom in the back of this installation acts as a private altar, a sanctuary to commemorate the memory of my partner Tim, who passed away last year. Wheat-pasted maps of the Adirondacks, fisherman boots belonging to him, a decoy dove, my studio sweater, other personal elements, and a candle are transformed into a confessional. We live in a death-sanitized society that exploits grief and offers consumption as a means to try and live forever, yet not everyone gets to grow old." - Daina Mattis