Juxtapoz Magazine - Land & OHWOW present "The Island" at Art Basel

Land & OHWOW present "The Island" at Art Basel
Monday November 29, 2010

The Land and OHWOW event, titled "The Island," will surely be one of the "talks of the town" events going down at Basel this week, as they are citing Joseph Conrad and Aldous Huxley in the press release, so at least they are aiming for the sky. If you don't believe us, read the message that LAND and OHWOW sent out to promote the event below.

What we do know is that the participating artists include Bozidar Brazda, Stefan Bruggemann, Scott Campbell, Brody Condon, Naomi Fisher, Michael Genovese, Luis Gispert, Adler Guerrier, Terence Koh, Kate Levant & Michael E. Smith, Hanna Liden, Justin Lowe, Kori Newkirk, Jack Pierson, Marina Rosenfeld, Rona Yefman and others.

Here is the full message to promote "The Island":

they say that twin lovers were lured there once.¹

that they came on a boat of cloth.²

that they still hold hands on the bank.

a message:

"the earth seemed unearthly. we are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there - there you could look at a thing monstrous and free." ⁱ

they say that their spirits remain.³ multiplied. infinite. ever moving.⁴

that she makes her way to the wilderness, deliberately⁵, and others, aware that they are there only - ghosts - ensuring the world does not fall apart.⁴

that yet another still walks and receives a transmittal from below.⁶

a message:

"nobody needs to go anywhere else. we are all, if we only knew it, already there." ⁱⁱ

they say that the sounds of time grow out of the earth there.⁷

that they reveal. and hide.

that there is music, movement. hold still to see it, or not hear it.⁸

a message:

"conditioned from the cradle, unceasingly distracted, mesmerized systematically... and yet in spite of the entirely justified refusal to take yes for an answer, the fact remained and would remain always...that there was this capacity even in a paranoiac for intelligence, even in a devil worshipper for love." ⁱⁱⁱ

is that where they rest? near the monument?⁹ an illuminated path guiding them to the beach¹⁰ and a golden bough to mark their return.¹¹

it's strange to see the relics of a man made animal. hidden refuse.¹² a broken instrument.⁸memories from the past projected.¹³

have you been there before?

a place. a beacon. a reflection drawing you to the shore.¹⁴

the island

as the sun hangs lower in the sky, and coincidences and actions intersect, the clocks will strike four. and we will all be there. on the dock. waiting to never be there again.

LAND is a nonprofit public art initiative committed to curating site- and situation-specific contemporary art projects, in Los Angeles and beyond.

OHWOW is a collaboration of people from the art/music/fashion/design/publishing worlds that seeks to offer these creative types the opportunity to expand their practices into different media and modes of production.

Participating artists include: Terence Koh¹, Justin Lowe², Jack Pierson³, Brody Condon⁴, Naomi Fisher⁵, Kate Levant & Michael E. Smith⁶, Bozidar Brazda⁷, Marina Rosenfeld⁸, Adler Guerrier⁹, Kori Newkirk¹⁰, Luis Gispert¹¹, Hanna Liden¹², Rona Yefman¹³, Stefan Brüggemann¹⁴, and others.

i Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, 1902

ii Aldous Huxley, Island, 1962

iii Aldous Huxley, Island, 1962

The Island
Presented by LAND and OHWOW
Flagler Memorial Island Art Basel Miami 2010
A one-night, site-specific exhibition
Friday, December 3, 4-8pm
Organized by Aaron Bondaroff, Shamim Momin and Al Moran