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17-03-2021
Maggie Hazen
๐๏ธ Online
Night Moth: A Mythology of Escape
Maggie Hazen, D.W., and ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐.
Artist Maggie Hazen and D.W, a resident at the Columbia correctional faculty for girls, have digitised their ongoing sketchbook exchange and have together created something really beautiful. Their multimedia web piece is part of a larger project called JJ-DAP, a media mentorship project for incarcerated girls.
Entering a cell, we are invited to unlock videos by tapping the various objects within. We explore the world of a green fantastical figure, Luna, whom we follow through a series of dreamlike clips.
The dancing fairy imposed on the moon was one of my favourites- encapsulating the internal desire for movement and freedom, as a 60s soul track plays- itโs a perfect portrayal of escapism.
I also enjoyed the bed clip which showed a restless night moth dreaming of an underwater scene with her seven-legged octopus friend.
The written piece, โMythology of Escapeโ is particularly special- big Ed Ruscha vibes with clever depth.
By clicking on the digital notebook you can see their musings, their discussions, and their sketches. This meeting of the physical with the digital allows the viewer to piece together how such a clever online show was born from their epistolary correspondence.
This collaboratory project is a powerful and novel depiction of different types of isolation which has an especially significant resonance today.
I urge you to check out the exhibition here along with @jj_dap
Geo Merchant
