Sang-Mi Yoo, “In Transition” - Born in Korea and living in Lubbock, Tex., Sang-Mi Yoo created a felt cut of an identical house repeated four times, mimicking the sameness of cookie-cutter subdivisions. Looking closely, though, viewers can see that, because the two layers of paper aren’t attached, there are subtle differences: a bulging doorpost here, a sagging beam there, suggesting that, both in the artwork and in real life, no two homes—or the families that live in them—are identical.
Yoonmi Nam, “Take Out (Thank You Gracias)” - The ubiquitous plastic bag and Styrofoam container aren’t what you think: Yoonmi Nam, born in Korea and living in Kansas, made the container (visible in another work on display) out of glazed porcelain, and the bag out of Japanese Gambi paper, which she instructed installers to crumple before displaying. McLaughlin says, “Understanding the material nature of these objects changes how you view and interact with them” by turning throwaway, barely considered objects into something permanent and carefully crafted.
Amze Emmons, “Street Life Flatpack” - Amze Emmons, an artist living in Philadelphia, took photos of objects seen on streets near his home, then printed them on coroplast and set them up to re-create the experience of walking through his neighborhood. Some objects—like the traffic cones—could be anywhere, while others—the discarded soda cup from cheesesteak mecca Pat’s—are Philadelphia-specific. “These are things that we’ve all confronted and dealt with and interacted with, but now we’re being presented with them in a new context because they’re obviously a fake version of these things,” says McLaughlin.
Benjamin Rogers, “What Did I Know of Love’s Austere and Lonely Offices”- In this watercolor, Benjamin Rogers, who lives in Denver, puts the viewer in a low position, looking up at a seemingly humdrum domestic scene, full of quotidian household objects: a broom, a refrigerator plastered with notes and magnets, a tea kettle. This painting and another one by Rogers in the exhibit are “a subtle representation of home life and the excess that comes with what we think we need versus what we actually have,” says McLaughlin.
Nick Satinover, “Pink Slip Fashioned Flag (For College Park)” - Nick Satinover, based in Murfreesboro, Tn., created a wall-sized woodcut print juxtaposing the words “work” and “worry.” “Nick’s piece is very much trying to be a representation of the stress that comes with working a job, going home, and having to repeat things,” says McLaughlin.
