"I'm thinking of changing my smile" revisited.

Canoodling Chairs, Mrs. Dole's Room.

It has been a busy 7 months since our exhibition and time has flown by although the memories of such an epic and involved show are quite vivid. Since our exhibition came down I have moved all the way to Salt Lake City and the distance has been a challenge. I recently was struggling to come up with a reason for why I found art-making so difficult--is it because of the move, or because I am not working a job that I love, pining for my old ones?

Mr. Doles's room, detail of windows, and sculpted sheeting.

All-of-the-above would be an okay answer. But it has also occurred to me just how important collaboration has been to my work and identity as an artist. The collaboration between Christina and I was not my first, but due to the size of the exhibition it continues to take up a lot of mental space about studio process/production and exhibition. The show seems incomplete--no, don't get me wrong, "i'm thinking of changing my smile" was an amazing show, stretching our abilities and testing our endurance (and friendship at times) and it was resolved as much as such a large installation can be. Maybe a better word to use would be unfinished as in unfinished business. I mean that there were so many concepts explored that, like all good art, a potency to continue to create and evolve the work was generated.
Christina and I have been testing the idea of doing satellite shows including some of the work created for "I'm thinking of changing my smile," as well as the work that was generated in response to it: video, image, drawings, etc.

Stairwell with Pill-bottle bioforms.

"I'm thinking of changing my smile" was a lot about being comfortable in your own skin as an artist and surrounding your domestic space and life with that work. The humble, abject materials we used inside of what was once an ornate estate really spoke to us about awkwardness and state of being. So part of my draw in doing a satellite show is to add a layer about enduring heartache, loneliness, change, and existing at a distance to the narrative.
So we keep on pushing. Certainly working collaboratively pressures you to deal with hang-ups in your own work. You either find yourself even more determined to do your own thing at the pace you were doing it already, or you push yourself outside of your comfort zone into a growth state.