Below Grand is pleased to present Since when did streets have
mouths?, a group exhibition of five artists—Joseph Buckley, Sacha Ingber,
Bradley Marshall, Tyna Ontko and Sophia Sobers—each working uniquely
in the medium of sculpture today.
Excerpted from Palestinian author Naomi Shihab Nye’s Yellow Glove,
the title of the exhibition, Since when did streets have mouths? playfully
introduces an image of an everyday occurrence—walking on a street—
that is transformed into something fantastical, a street with a mouth. In
this context, the street becomes both anthropomorphic and a portal to
an unknown space in which an object can be lost or found. Shihab Nye’s
account of a childhood anxiety of losing a glove into this unknown void,
only to find it later, focuses on the unfolding emotions felt in between
these events. The poem describes relatable emotions in times of grief:
anxiety, guilt, dissociation, and ultimately, an unwavering hope for a divine
or magical intervention to change the outcome of a course of events. The
improbability of the narrator’s eventual reunion with her glove could be
described as hope for the existence of hope itself.
In this context, Since when did streets have mouths? introduces
a grouping of works that offer their own fantastical explorations into
the artists’ individual worlds that reflect, investigate, caution, and
ultimately point towards hope in a time of international geopolitical crisis.
Collectively, the artists interrogate the past, present, and future by looking
at their own histories, as well as outward towards potential shared futures.
Through a refined approach to craft, the artworks in this show skillfully
use material to bridge between surreal objects and intimate feelings. The
broad survey of media present in this exhibition highlights the revolutionary
possibilities of working in sculpture today. These works span timeless
traditions including ceramic, casting, and welding. They also foretell the
emergence of advances in machinery, incorporating machine learning and
additive manufacturing. In summary, Since when did streets have mouths?
probes the present through the lens of the past while invoking the future,
asking “how best to use what has been learned?” and, “is it possible to
find what’s been lost?”