Gala Porras-Kim
The motion of an alluvial record is an atmospheric installation by artist Gala Porras-Kim that explores the complex relationships between cultural institutions, the objects they preserve, and the environments from which these objects originate.
Central to this exhibition is a mud work composed of clay sourced from the wetlands of the Yucatán Peninsula. This material, layered with centuries of sediment, serves as a living archive—a tangible record of both geological and human histories. When submerged in water, the clay’s particles, each from a range of eras, defy linear chronology and form a tableau that captures a holistic and cyclical view of time, thus echoing the Maya understanding of the fluidity of time.
Considering Storefront’s unique condition as an exhibition space that is notoriously not climate controlled, Porras-Kim reimagines the gallery space as a hothouse, meticulously regulated to replicate the moisture and temperature conditions of the Yucatán wetlands. This transformation challenges the standard practices of art conservation, which typically call for dry, conditioned environments that strip works of their original context. By maintaining the mud in a perpetually moist state, Porras-Kim highlights the importance of preserving materials in a condition that mimics their original site, resisting the sterilization that often occurs within institutional walls.
The exhibition also reflects on the role of institutions in shaping our understanding of objects and histories. By enclosing the mud work in a humid environment, the room itself becomes part of the artwork, embodying the tension between natural processes of decay and the preservationist impulses of cultural institutions. This dialogue between the natural and the institutional underscores the ways in which art and architecture can adapt to accommodate works that are deeply connected to their environmental origins.
A gallery space with text artwork on a white wall. Next to it is a wooden frame structure covered in transparent material.
Opening: Sep 19, 2024, 6-8 p.m.