As the Fidget Spinner Turns
Jenson Leonard (Cory in the Abyss) & Hannah Epstein. Curated by Fred Blauth
As the Fidget Spinner Turns is a two-person exhibition by neo-folk artist Hannah Epstein (AKA hanski) and meme artist & poet Jenson Leonard (Cory in the Abyss). Through mock sculpture, projection, and the traditional craft of rug hooking, both artists explore virtual and physical realities touching on subject matter ranging from Japanese Hentai and Jewish heritage to social activist, bell hooks and "Your Mom" jokes. Through this iconography, conversations about technology, privilege, pop-culture, social media and ethics begin to blur on and off screen.
When thinking about folklore, intricate illustrations of fairies and dragons or crumbling hieroglyphics might come to mind. It’s easy to forget that these images were born from very real beliefs and customs of very real societies throughout history. Hannah Epstein is using the folklore in front of us today to create new realities both physically and digitally. Through rug hooking, Epstein juxtaposes iconic imagery in lush fibers and vibrant colors. By manifesting, manipulating and remixing these references, Epstein acknowledges the impact of the images we see and live with today, which will be legends of tomorrow.
Leonard’s sculptures of DVD/CD cases and 90s hip-hop t-shirts take on a Duchampian point of view when his digitally-created images are satirically transformed into physical art objects. Meme culture has taken over our screens and some critics consider the act of making them 21st century poetry. Rules and structure begin to form not unlike that of meter, alliteration, or rhyme. By understanding these rules and then breaking them, Leonard’s work will have viewers reconsider what they call a “meme” and the power they hold in society today.
-Fred Blauth, curator
Jenson Leonard (Cory in the Abyss) & Hannah Epstein. Curated by Fred Blauth
As the Fidget Spinner Turns is a two-person exhibition by neo-folk artist Hannah Epstein (AKA hanski) and meme artist & poet Jenson Leonard (Cory in the Abyss). Through mock sculpture, projection, and the traditional craft of rug hooking, both artists explore virtual and physical realities touching on subject matter ranging from Japanese Hentai and Jewish heritage to social activist, bell hooks and "Your Mom" jokes. Through this iconography, conversations about technology, privilege, pop-culture, social media and ethics begin to blur on and off screen.
When thinking about folklore, intricate illustrations of fairies and dragons or crumbling hieroglyphics might come to mind. It’s easy to forget that these images were born from very real beliefs and customs of very real societies throughout history. Hannah Epstein is using the folklore in front of us today to create new realities both physically and digitally. Through rug hooking, Epstein juxtaposes iconic imagery in lush fibers and vibrant colors. By manifesting, manipulating and remixing these references, Epstein acknowledges the impact of the images we see and live with today, which will be legends of tomorrow.
Leonard’s sculptures of DVD/CD cases and 90s hip-hop t-shirts take on a Duchampian point of view when his digitally-created images are satirically transformed into physical art objects. Meme culture has taken over our screens and some critics consider the act of making them 21st century poetry. Rules and structure begin to form not unlike that of meter, alliteration, or rhyme. By understanding these rules and then breaking them, Leonard’s work will have viewers reconsider what they call a “meme” and the power they hold in society today.
-Fred Blauth, curator
Hannah Epstein
Artist Statement
Hannah Epstein (AKA hanski) is a neo-folk artist working in the cross-section of textile, experimental games and video art. Epstein’s work aims to highlight the fringe of cultural practice by blurring the lines between traditional craft, popular culture, and contemporary art. With a multi-disciplinary practice and an emphasis on play, Epstein's work calls to reimagine the role of storytelling as multiple realities emerge from our increasingly isolated media bubbles.
Bio
Born in Toronto and raised in Nova Scotia, Hannah Epstein (AKA hanski), is of mixed Latvian and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. Drawing from the shifting ground of her identity, she has created an anti-ideology-ideology that investigates and dissects emerging trends in popular culture.
Jenson Leonard
Artist Statement
Jenson Leonard(Cory in The Abyss) is a poet and digital media artist whose poetics are concerned with disrupting the representational logics that exist between the internet, mass media, and capitalism. Jenson Leonard started a meme page called Cory in The Abyss just over a year ago, but he's still not quite sure what a meme is, as his notion of what can be memetic imagery shifts with each "meme". He thinks of his work being in the tradition of Bolshevik Agitprop and 1970's New York City Graffiti, except instead of private property, he's scrawling ideologies across the digital terrain of Silicon Valley's social media platforms.
Artist Statement
Hannah Epstein (AKA hanski) is a neo-folk artist working in the cross-section of textile, experimental games and video art. Epstein’s work aims to highlight the fringe of cultural practice by blurring the lines between traditional craft, popular culture, and contemporary art. With a multi-disciplinary practice and an emphasis on play, Epstein's work calls to reimagine the role of storytelling as multiple realities emerge from our increasingly isolated media bubbles.
Bio
Born in Toronto and raised in Nova Scotia, Hannah Epstein (AKA hanski), is of mixed Latvian and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. Drawing from the shifting ground of her identity, she has created an anti-ideology-ideology that investigates and dissects emerging trends in popular culture.
Jenson Leonard
Artist Statement
Jenson Leonard(Cory in The Abyss) is a poet and digital media artist whose poetics are concerned with disrupting the representational logics that exist between the internet, mass media, and capitalism. Jenson Leonard started a meme page called Cory in The Abyss just over a year ago, but he's still not quite sure what a meme is, as his notion of what can be memetic imagery shifts with each "meme". He thinks of his work being in the tradition of Bolshevik Agitprop and 1970's New York City Graffiti, except instead of private property, he's scrawling ideologies across the digital terrain of Silicon Valley's social media platforms.
