Time Returns: A Continuous Now
Everson Museum of Art: May 11 – August 4, 2019
There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives. – Audre Lorde
Time Returns: A Continuous Now is not a single-issue show. This unconventional exhibition spans disparate thematic threads, represented primarily through photographs, to call attention to the impact of climate change, either directly or indirectly, on many of the social and political struggles currently at the center of American public debate. The title of the exhibition attempts to identify and name the cyclical nature of these topics while acknowledging feelings of anxiety that accompany having “been here before.” This déjà vu serves as a prompt to examine how events of the past inform our present and future struggles.
A Wunderkammer, or Cabinet of Curiosities, inspired the selection and arrangement of works for this exhibition. Popularized during 16th century Europe and widely considered to be the precursor to today’s museums, a Cabinet of Curiosities was a room installed with a wide array of objects without regard for chronology or categorical specificity. The juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated subjects opened new pathways for discovery and unexpected conversations, privileging active engagement over passive acceptance toward a more expansive worldview. Similarly, Time Returns: A Continuous Now is an exhibition based on conjecture and speculation. Unencumbered by institutionalized epistemologies, the exhibition invites viewers to set aside conventional modes of organization and work toward an imaginative reconciliation of unusual groupings of images.
The exhibition is organized into themes or “chapters” and creates meaning by revealing the commonalities that underlie many important issues too often considered in isolation. While individual images may be seemingly removed from the idea of climate change, taken as a whole, they ignite a series of connective threads that lead back to this central theme. To facilitate those discoveries, miniature libraries within the galleries provide visitors with opportunities to delve deeper into the myriad and complex ideas the exhibition considers. In the end, Time Returns: A Continuous Now deploys the inherent potential embodied by the Wunderkammer as a means to propose an awakening of a new age, an age of curiosity defined by expansiveness, inclusion, social justice and the overlapping realms of possibilities.
Drawn from the collections of Light Work and the Everson Museum of Art, Time Returns: A Continuous Now is a collaborative project created by artist Judy Natal and the Everson’s Curator of Art & Programs DJ Hellerman.
Chapters
The Strange: Things are not as they seem. Reality is being distorted. What is normal feels peculiar and what is peculiar begins feeling normal. Oblique vantage points reposition the world as unfamiliar in order to see it more clearly and consider possible reconfigurations.
The Proverbial: Truths are cultural reminders of what is moral and ethical. They feel unquestionable, are embedded deep in our consciousness, and reaffirm our worldview. These are the guideposts that enable societal order and progress.
The Unraveling: Ecological collapse is underway. Denial is futile and refusing to act is no longer an option. We live in the Anthropocene, a time when the impact of human activity on the planet has had the most powerful influence on the environment. Our responsibilities must shift for survival.
The Unknowable: There are thoughts, emotions, feelings, and spaces beyond our grasp. The power of faith, embodied knowledge, and mysticism are captured in images of floating, dancing, and feeling. We struggle to comprehend the complexity of life, love, death, and loss as inexplicable forces continue to inspire hope, sustain life, and feed our curiosity.