SAMANTHA BUTLER

REVISIONIST HISTORIES

Bold Tendencies Gallery, 2015, Mixed Media Installation

 

Revisionist Histories sought to empower viewers to make unprecedented connections between this and that, here and there, when and why and how. Set in the raw, ambiguous space of the disused car park, the installation emphasized the importance of alternative ways of navigating space. As the site of Bold Tendencies has proven: a car park is not just a car park, disused and left for destruction; there is beauty and purpose to be found and composed in raw spaces such as these, but these opportunities only reveal themselves to us when we seek them out with open minds.

 

Found throughout the passageway were selections of trash items bound in the style of of hand-bound books. Though these were crafted from technically worthless materials, when they were connected and treated with time and thought, these items became something of greater value. It was the hope that these trash books would inspire curiosity from the viewer whether it was in response to their aesthetic or to the open-ended narratives that were created by the physical connection of seemingly unrelated items.

 

Grounded in the belief that art should be kept accessible and within reach, viewers were invited take a seat, touch anything in the exhibit, and take home any of the trash books found throughout the installation.