Heaven Carrier

Heaven Carrier

Venue: Richard Taittinger Gallery, 154 Ludlow Street, New York, NY

Opening Period: April 3rd—May 3rd, 2015

Recycle Group addresses the rising level of material waste as a byproduct of widespread consumerism and the high amount of pastiche that permeates contemporary culture. Simultaneously somber and satirical, their works comment on the existential crisis of current overreliance on virtual worlds and online interconnectivity as a means of survival.

The exhibition title, Heaven Carrier, invites multi-faceted comparison between religion and the wireless networks of today. If “heaven” is a transcendent utopia promised by many faiths, and “carrier” is a corporation that provides data services, it asks what differences remain between them. If both powers hold an omnipotent presence and dictate from above, which holds greater control over the daily life of the individual in the current age?

Exhibition highlights include Tower (2015), a metal truss entangled with electrical wire looms and topped with antenna spires in a futuristic revision of ancient obelisks. Dome (2015), recalls the Renaissance-era trompe-l'oeil oculus Camera degli Sposi in the Palazzo Ducale. Polyurethane rubber takes the place of marble in the creation of portrait busts. In using these methods of depiction historically reserved for Western religious icons and monarchs, Recycle Group portrays how social media has replaced these older orders of power in affirming existence, identity, and cultural belonging for the masses. Whether this observation should be perceived as an ailment or advantage is ultimately left for the viewer to decide.

Photo credit: Richard Taittinger Gallery