East Williamsburg, New York
Group Exhibition
#FUTUREMYTH
ScholesParticipating artists include: Kari Altmann, Matthew Arkell, Iain Ball, Enrico Boccioletti, Manuel Bürger, Sterling Crispin, Claire L. Evans, Ryan Whittier Hale, Erin Henry, Emily Jones, Taylor Kuffner, Paul Laffoley, Kareem Lotfy, Jonas Lund + Sebastian Schmieg, Einar Öberg, Rafaël Rozendaal, Jasper Spicero, Tanner Family, and Clement Valla + Erik Berglin. “The interior of man has been essentially the same for 40,000 years, since the first emergence of Homo Sapiens. Myth has to do with the spiritual potentialities of this constant, this human being. But the images of myth must be derived from the environment of today and in this place. There is therefore a constant transformation of the image, but not of the reference.” —Joseph Campbell Artists explain and preserve the human experience through myth, translating internal visions into external interpretations, in order to make sense of physical and psychological worlds. Through a collective agency supported by pervasive connectivity, the creation, purpose, and evolution of myth transfers back into the hands of the global village, reclaimed from centuries of appropriation. Eventually, a sentience emerged, and myths took on a new form—rather than being explicative, they have become alternative. Advances in technology have rendered natural phenomena mere novelty, seemingly explaining all but the existential meaning and complexity of the human mind. Jung suggests that the collective unconscious is a conditioned state, that archetypes are finite and the same mythologies will reiterate ceaselessly. However, storytellers are no longer interested in interpretation, and instead aim to materialize and explore meta-realities. The communal space of the Internet has developed into a proverbial campfire where we sit, glassy-eyed, transfixed by the glow, waiting for revelations. What’s the state of the modern myth? How do myths proliferate, what do we use to represent them, and what’s the cultural value of storytelling? #FUTUREMYTH presents digital artists engaged in contemporary myth-making who are using the gallery as a way to navigate, define, and discuss the current landscape of mythology and its relevance in our technologically dependent lives. Curated by Christina Latina and Daniel Leyva Christina Latina is a designer living and working in New York City. Her work explores the liminal spaces between reality and mythology, particularly those in present and future modalities of visual communication. She currently teaches design in the Graduate Communications Program at Pratt Institute, and lectures on the the practice of speculative design and the philosophy of science fiction. She works at Subrosa, developing the most influential of mass mythology: advertising. Originally from Lake Worth, Florida (26.615916,-80.120621) and part of the last pre-Internet generation, Daniel Leyva is an artist investigating the transient interactions of humans with technology. Leyva’s work seeks to convey the emotional interconnections between human and machine through different mediums, whether being in the form of video, interactive site, installation or otherwise. He is inspired by JRPGs and the Home Shopping Network, and currently a web designer based in Brooklyn, New York (40.699325,-73.930339).