Natalie Rain and Sebastian Loo explore the (seemingly) lost art of living through the pair’s curatorial project -iNG, holding its opening reception this Friday, June 17th from 6 PM to 10 PM. Additional artists Marcel Monroy, hooz, Cade Calahan, Canyon Crochet, Dominique Go, Luisa Coats, Oskar Veloz, Jacob Ace, and Chris Brodbeck help launch a study on action. To experiment in movement is to experiment with outcome. The weight of the world has a tendency to compress and destroy, but through this painful process, one can realize the true meaning of potential. To rise again implies the power to manifest. To dream is to create, and to stop dreaming, death. The works featured in -iNG not only urge the viewer to keep moving, but to be intentional with the direction. 

Marcel Monroy. “God, Who in Return For Hospitality Extended Them, Favored Us” (2022). Rope, wax, paraffin dye on dirt. Approximately 5’x5’.

hooz. “Forest Child of Jade” (2021). Ceramic. 5” x 5” x 9”.

Sebastian Loo and Natalie Rain. “Gerund” (2022). Charcoal, chinese ink/paint, and common house paint on xuan paper. 3 panels.

Sebastian Loo. “A Sanctuary of Shedded Skin / Like a monument erected from darkness / where in that void, / There is always room for strength. / Now, a light extending miles and miles, / A pillar for something new / What is “is” and how is “is” / “Is” being something new once more ” (2022). Wheat glue, xuan paper, wire. 40” x 5’.

Marcel Monroy. “God, Who in Return For Hospitality Extended Them, Favored Us” (2022). Rope, wax, paraffin dye on dirt. Approximately 5’x5’.

hooz. “Forest Child of Jade” (2021). Ceramic. 5” x 5” x 9”.

-iNG offers party favors in the form of universal tools: ways to explore, ways to cope, ways to hope. The only thing worse than sitting still is moving backwards. 

Rain: To me -iNG represents the intense desire and dream of transcendence within our communities. Highlighting the ridged journey of the actions taken to grant yourself your dream life. This show simultaneously emphasizes the stage of limbo that happens when your first, second, third attempt of changing your life—fails. Followed by the grip on the daydream that fuels our souls.

-iNG is filled with the hopelessness as well as the hopefulness we have all felt when we get knocked down. With the artists chosen in this curation, Sebastian and I offer alternative acts of navigation to viewers— focusing on “primal” tools of survival such as:

jumping, waiting, lying, crouching, flying, forgetting, unlearning, researching, praying, releasing, concentrating, practicing, side-stepping, absorbing, stealing, building, remembering, resting, rewilding, shedding, shouting, digging, cutting, spinning, laughing, dancing, rushing, inhaling, singing, playing, recovering, inventing, repairing, confusing, burning, drowning, preserving, sacrificing, divining, bending, claiming, paving, hatching, breathing, hunting, squeezing, grazing, pouncing, poisoning, feeding, signaling, warning, hiding, floating, digesting, softening, trusting, spreading, aligning, blinding, mirroring, inviting, destroying

Tools that viewers can take and use while on their journeys.

We have all faced a barrier, could we have transcended to where we are, and who we are now by adopting an alternative mode?

This journey towards a transcendent space of serenity, peace, and euphoria also welcomes the possibility of harm, trauma, stagnancy, poisonous lenses, and discouragement.

Canyon Crochet. “Choo x Two” (2021). Porcelain, wheels, and hooks on sand. 8”x4.5”x46”.

Canyon Crochet. “Choo x Two” (2021). Porcelain, wheels, and hooks on sand. 8”x4.5”x46”.

Rachel Trend. “Ripple” (2022). Inkjet print, plastic, liquid latex, acrylic, eyeshadow, nail polish. 14” x 11”.

We are constantly re-learning that the only way out is through. The burdens we bear tempt shortcuts, ‘overs’ and ‘arounds’. The human condition is quite heavy, but more than that, cumbersome. Finding ways to cope without crashing in, or out, can seem impossible. To walk in accordance with others is to walk a tightrope. These artists explore life’s balancing act inspired by one common thread: something better, once and for all. 

It is prophesied in many practices that humans are created in the image of the divine, but in our 21st century stray from God, we have forgotten our ability to design. -iNG urges you to remember the magic. 

Loo: It’s a fable told to a toddler. A tale about real obstacles (barriers), magic (transcendence), and demons (trauma). But the thing that makes this fable different is that there’s no moral to the story. 

Dominique Go. “Citrus Quilt 2” (2022). Bitter melons, navel oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes, mesh produce net, ribbon, cuties sticker, Chin Chin grass jelly drink aluminum foil, peanut, thread, ink. 10.5” x 11”.

Experience the opening for -iNG on Friday, June 17 from 6 PM to 10 PM at 1853 Arlington Ave Los Angeles, CA 90006.

1418 N Highland Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90028   © Flaunt Magazine 2017