May 1 - 29, 2022
From Terrain Dallas:
“From May 1 – 29 Terrain Dallas will host artist river jackson-paton’s curbside connections, an interactive art installation made of found objects and cast offs from neighborhoods throughout Dallas. Curbside connections encourages viewers to “reflect on plastic waste and the need for a more conscious relationship with the natural, social and economic world” and manifests the artist’s “work-of-body” to explore connections between the self and place.
river jackson-paton is an artist, writer, educator, and ethnoautobiographer working in found object assemblage, collage, performance, and poetry. For several years they have been collecting found objects from curbs, open fields, streets, and anywhere cast off items end up.
In curbside connections, river’s second solo exhibition in Dallas, found objects such as plastic lids, flower pots, toys, storage bins, wire, and electronic waste are assembled into sculptural forms and spatial experiences that encourage the viewer to engage in two of the artist’s practices.
On each side of the landscape, river will situate two sculptures assembled from the cast offs they collect. On one side, a six foot blue cairn constructed of found plastic sits amid a spiraling form made of plastic lids. The structural situation encourages viewers to move around the space and includes an altar for leaving offerings and tokens, creating a ceremonial space out of found plastic which “attempts to balance garbage and treasure, old and new, movement and stillness, ritual and indifference, whimsy and despair.” On the other side of the landscape, will sit a six foot dome adorned with smaller assemblages that are manifestations of river’s many practices and “emphasizes macro and micro approaches to connection and relationship” especially in relation to the body and healing.
During the run of the exhibition, river will lead interactive sessions, what they call “play
shops.” These events will bring together personal reflection and embodying space.
Sunday, May 1, 5 – 7 pm: opening; an arriving practice
viewers will be introduced to the space (what river calls arriving), river’s inspiration, stories
of the installations and poetry.
Saturday, May 7, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm: Embodying Self & Place; Elmwood branch cleanup
embodying self and place will emphasize integration of our selves with the places we inhabit culminating in an Cedar Creek – Elmwood cleanup
Sunday, May 15, 1 – 2 pm: Cootie Catchers and dis-words
Create and use fortune tellers, also called cootie catchers, to repattern the stories we tell ourselves.
Sunday, May 29, 5 – 6 pm: closing; a departing practice
viewers will be invited to participate in the folding up of the show. river will encourage participants to assist in collecting, packing and dispersing the items.
river is is a non-binary trans*gender artist and holds a Phd in Human Science from Saybrook University, Pasadena, California where they co-authored a college textbook on ethnoautobiography in 2014. Since their artist residency at Sunset Art Studios in 2017, they have created a Curbside Coloring Book, that is in press, as well as a book of poetry and a personal ethnoautobiographical workbook, which are both in process. Their first solo exhibition in Dallas, Finding the Forgotten was featured at Sunset Art Studios at the end of their 2017 residency.
Founded by local artist and curator Iris Bechtol, Terrain Dallas is a public exhibition space located in Elmwood, a historic neighborhood in Oak Cliff – Dallas, TX. Terrain Dallas focuses on exhibiting temporary interventions by emerging artists in and around the landscape of a suburban home. Offering artists a place to experiment within an alternative setting, Terrain Dallas functions as a site of connection, exposing the community to new ideas and experiences through challenging works of contemporary art.
Terrain Dallas is located at 1122 Elmdale Pl, Dallas, TX 75224
Viewing Hours: Seven days a week, daylight hours during exhibitions.”
Reception: May 1, 2022 | 5–7 pm
1122 Elmdale Pl
Dallas, 75224 TX
Get directions