on view March 2 – May 26, 2024
Opening reception on Saturday March 2, 2024 from 6-9pm
Artist talk at 6:30pm

Tourist, Tour-est is a solo exhibition of my new work.  It humorously considers how social media and our attention economy have influenced our approach to and documentation of travel.   Most of the pieces in this show take the form of diplomas and/or certificates of achievement.  I am using this analog method of self-display (hanging one’s degree on the wall) to play with ideas about credentials and accomplishment when it comes to visiting other places. Employing my usual visual language of merit badges, letter jacket references, and embroidered found text, this body of work jokingly highlights the competition and comparison aspects of our conversations about [aspirational] globetrotting.

Additionally, in this exhibition, I am experimenting with a slide show…of actual slides…in a slide projector.  This slide show is a curated selection of Instagram pictures people have posted while visiting pyramids.  It draws parallels between the dreaded vacation slide shows of the 1960s and 70s, and the willing scroll of voyeurism we engage in with our phones.  The slide show is also about novelty, self-expression, and how far we’ve come as amateur photographers.

In conjunction with this exhibition, Visit Galveston and I have partnered to create 7 merit badges related to Galveston tourism.  

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