Clarissa Tossin: The 8th Continent

From Rice University:

“Los Angeles-based, Brazilian artist Clarissa Tossin joins the Moody Center for the Arts and MFAH Core Residency Program to celebrate the opening of The 8th Continent on view at the Brochstein Pavilion.

Working closely with Rice’s Space Institute and Houston’s Lunar and Planetary Institute, Tossin sourced NASA images mapped to identify sites of ice deposits on the Moon. These maps are intended to guide the extraction of lunar water in order to aid in the production of rocket fuel. Tossin’s triptych repurposes these images as a series of tapestries enriched with metallic thread. With this presentation, she references the historic use of ornate maps by imperial and colonial forces to ostentatiously communicate the wealth and power of their domain. The 8th Continent creates a juxtaposition between former and future drivers of resource exploitation, thereby questioning attempts by twenty-first-century nation-states to expand into and control territories in space.

This work is the third installation in the Off the Wall series, which is a partnership between the Rice Public Art program, coordinated by the Moody Center for the Arts, and the Core Residency Program at the Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The series commissions Core Residency Program alumni to create site-specific installations for the Brochstein Pavilion. The 8th Continent will be on view for one year.

This program is organized by Ylinka Barotto, Associate Curator, Moody Center for the Arts.

This installation is made possible by Raymond and Susan Brochstein, Deborah Brochstein, and Steven Hecht.”