2130 W. Fulton St., Chicago, IL 60612
Wednesday-Thursday: 11AM-5PM
Friday-Saturday: by advance appointment
07.11
Far from the distance we see
Friday, May 31, 2019 / 5-8 pm
Mev Luna
The Chicago Artists Coalition is pleased to present Far from the distance we see, a solo exhibition of new work by Mev Luna.
The exhibition opens on Fri, May 31, 2019 with a reception from 5-8 pm.
“The proliferating subaltern...indicates how the powers of the subject remain with us, that the strategies of the modern Will to Truth, the tools of science and history, remain the productive weapons of global subjection.”
– Denise Ferreira da Silva, 'Towards a Global Idea of Race'
The Toltecs, and later the Mexicas, believed that projection from the spiritual world into the physical was possible. Mahtactli on ce ilhuicatl or ‘the Eleventh Heaven’ is the location of the four spiritual energies of Tezcatlipoca, sometimes described as the ‘invisible god’ due to the scant surviving representations. Mahtactli on ce ilhuicatl is visualized by a square formation,[1] with each of the four spiritual energies occupying one corner, with scores of movement between intersecting lines of mother-thought and father-thought forming an x or cross in the center.[2] When enacted, the tracks rotate around the central axis, drawing a circle within a square. Far from the distance we see uses this geometric configuration and its spiritual significance to instigate audience participation, as the viewer must navigate the space according to predetermined routes in order to fully access the imagery contained within. Architecture elicits a compulsory performativity equivalent to our contemporary experience of screen mediation.
Far from the distance we see investigates various manifestations of physical and experiential confinement: Luna considers both corporeal confinement within the carceral state and the inescapable labor economy of late capitalism, alongside conceptual confinement within an imposed subject formation and position. The notion is explored both literally––through the specific embodied experience of moving through a constructed space––as well as through didactic and transcendental means. The exhibition necessitates two parallel forms of viewership: participants experience both watching unobstructed content, and watching others experience the same content made inaccessible by a privacy film designed to obscure only the content displayed on the video screens. The complex physical architecture and interwoven multi-media content of Far from the distance we see manufactures a viewing experience both intimate and alienating, reflecting the lived experience of the individuals for whom it was designed.
This project is supported in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Endnotes
[1] Olivier, Guilhem, Mockeries and Metamorphoses of an Aztec God, Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2008.
[2] Magaña, Sergio, 2012-2021: The Dawn of the Sixth Sun The Path of Quetzalcoatl: The Path of Quezalcoatl, Italy: BlossomingBooks, 2012.
Mev Luna
Far from the distance we see
May 31 – July 11, 2019
Opening reception:
Fri, May 31, 2019, 5 – 8PM
Programming:
Sat, Jun 8 / 3 pm
Gallery talk with Amara Nayeli Oviedo in conversation with Mev Luna.
Mon, Jun 24 / 7 pm
Live recording of Archives + Futures podcast with Ivan LOZANO. www.archivesandfutures.net
Thu, Jul 11 / 6-8 pm
Closing reception and publication launch in partnership with Service Bureau at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s editioned print series The FOLD.
About Artists
Mev Luna (b. Houston, Texas, 1988) is an interdisciplinary artist working in Chicago. Through a research-based practice and self-reflexive methodology, Luna’s practice rethinks history to identify the fictions that govern contemporary life and speculative futures. They work between live performance, video installation, new media, and text. Luna was an 2018 Art Matters Foundation Fellowship recipient,a 2017 SOMA Summer participant in Mexico City, and a 2015-2016 fellow at the Shapiro Center for Research and Collaboration, Chicago.
Artist Photo: Robert Chase Heishman
Never miss a thing
Subscribe to our newsletter and get regular updates on news, events, grants, and the latest opportunities for artists
Support Chicago Artists
Make a gift to CAC today and join our growing community of supporters