The Underdonk‘s new group show “Yours or Mine” is an invitation to a realm where diverse materials and techniques converge to amplify personal mythologies. The show features an eclectic mix of neon lights, mixed-media and 3D-printed sculptures, laser-cut plexiglass, and even art made out of edible frosting. The gallery spot dates to 2013, run by a group of artists on Willoughby Street. The space is small yet robust and shows there often come alive as an intimate viewing experience.
In “Yours or Mine,” the Bushwick-based Jackie Slanley presents a series of botanical-inspired pieces, made of laser-cut, tinted plexiglass, influenced by Japanese scrolls, biology archives, and 19th-century botanical illustrations. Slanley’s pieces merge elements of botany, biology, and technology and feature plexiglass layered in cinematic gradients that evoke a sense of depth and fluidity.
“All artists are creating our own mythology from our active creativity and it’s all pieces of a whole story,” says Slanley, whose work as an artist began during the isolation of the COVID-era and is rooted in her exploration of botany as a means of finding beauty. She says her process involves meticulous research, digital design, as well as the technical precision of laser-cutting. This culminates in multi-dimensional, sculptural works that extend into space.
“I go through archives and I pull images from biologists from the 1800s of flora and fauna, and in Illustrator, I start to morph them together to create my own species of flowers and insects. All of this is an attempt to worldbuild and create my own mythology,” she says.
Slanley’s plexiglass sculptures combine technical skill with artistic ingenuity, creating works that are both visually captivating and conceptually engaging. Her pieces expand the sense of dimensionality and through her techniques she creates pieces that appear to shift and change depending on how they are viewed.
Jacquelin Zazueta, based in Arkansas, crafts worlds rooted in Mexican folklore, Southern storytelling, and catholic ritual. She collects objects to create shrine-like tableaus, dedicated to specific lore; in “Campanita Merry Go Round,” she then remakes those ideas with 3D printing, reflecting an idea of relics as reproducible, part of an ongoing narrative of storytelling that blends together traditional and contemporary methods to explore cultural narratives.
Sam Reeder, whose studio is based in Kingston, New York, designs custom neon lights. His intricate neon designs feel nostalgic, but also feel engaged with contemporary queer culture in a very literal and erotic way; in “Prescient,” he uses the medium’s brightly colored lines to depict a frankly intimate, and glowing portrait of sex. The bursts of neon pink in his work are more than alluring; his sculpture emits a sense of vibrant, provocative energy.
Also in the show is a literal sculpture made of frosting assembled by Sydney Shavers and given the unassuming title “Cake Stand.” Delicate and ephemeral, her unconventional use sugary icing brings to mind the opulence of Marie Antoinette and, in her hands, are used to explore themes of fragility and the inevitable decay of authoritarian figures. Her “Cake Stand” feels instinctively transient, prone to cracking and deterioration, symbolizing the impermanence of power and beauty.
Finally, there’s Oletha Devane, based out of Baltimore, whose works can be best described as narrative altarpieces, made out of beads, lace, mirrors, figurines, and blown glass.
“The materials and the beads are the palette,” Devane tells me. “I love fabrics and the idea of reflection on the surfaces,” she says, adding that she looks “at materials as markers of culture.”
“Mirrors are a reflection of ourselves. I want to see how these materials read to other people,” she says.
Devane says she draws her inspiration from her travels throughout the African continent and her Baha’i faith which comes with a certain commonality of self-reflection and mythology. Her altarpiece sculptures evoke a sense of movement and a literal transformation, as the viewer has to circumambulate the exhibit space to study each detail.
“The pieces grew out of the need of where to put something that represents a certain aspect of healing or emotion. I use these artworks as a vehicle to think about the sacred in the various cultures I’ve experienced,” she says. “How do we create a sense of awe?”
Yours or Mine is on display at Underdonk Gallery from August 24 to September 29. The opening reception is Saturday, August 25 6-8pm. The gallery is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 1- 6pm, no appointment required.
Photos taken by Vanessa Hock.
For more news, sign up for Bushwick Daily’s newsletter.
Join the fight to save local journalism by becoming a paid subscriber.