Friday, February 29, 2008toFriday, April 4, 2008
The Forest City Gallery is pleased to present Adrift featuring the work of artists Farheen HaQ and Linh Gia Ly. Borrowed from the title of HaQ’s pinnacle video, the term adrift conjures contradictory visions of helplessness and freedom. Both artists strive to define the socio-political displacement present in contemporary society, built upon multi-culturalism, gender equality, and nationalism. As artists’ producing in this environment, HaQ and Ly generate fictional narratives as reflections of contemporary existence. Photographed while meditating at various secular locations, HaQ challenges the physical and political restraints of her environment. In a similar manner, Ly uses snapshots taken during her trip to China to examine North America’s fixation with foreign countries in her video China. Ly and HaQ’s photographs of foreign environments and public spaces interpret the displacement that occurs between their experience, the camera’s lens, and the gaze of the viewer..