Pep Abysmal (2018)

Pep Abysmal was a show I had up at the eponymous project space of Oregon collective Tropical Contemporary for a few weeks in January, 2018. As part of the exhibition, I traveled a couple hours to Eugene each weekend to work on an installation of sketches, doodles, and collages. The installation began with a pile of small drawings on scrap paper that had built up in the studio over the years, and expanded outward as the days went by.

The following poem/essay was printed on the gallery guide. It’s a mystified two-part thematic explanation for each of the larger pieces in the show.

View: wholeness of void.

Focus: freedom through friendship.

View: under skin of first, each constructively incomplete.

Focus: loosen sinew, draft. Grant comfort of unknown.

View: open communication transcribed with reverent esotericism.

Focus: best friends forever…beware.

View: uneasy at parties.

Focus: blank, puckered, inexpensive space. In the center a heavy grin.

View: the thing you like but not the way you like it.

Focus: gimmicky beauty.

View: options aplenty.

Focus: freedom through void.

View: bubbling, impartial congeniality.

Focus: monstrify and satirize.

View: white-hot blame spree.

Focus: smirking, amorphous bruiser.

View: accept warmth. Absorb and redefine.

Focus: hell of a tomato sauce.