39.7684° N, 86.1581° W
January 23 - February 17, 2023
Curated by Mark Ruschman

Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center Gallery
The University of Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN

39.7684° N, 86.1581° W is the new Land Report Collective exhibition currently on view at The University of Indianapolis Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center gallery. The closing reception and gallery talk with artists will be held Friday, February 17 from 4 to 6 p.m.

The artwork in this exhibition is particularly focused on the impact of human development and agricultural production on natural landscapes, environmental issues related to extraction of natural resources, and industrial manipulation of wild places. The exhibition title 39.7684° N, 86.1581° W are the geographic coordinates of the gallery in Indianapolis. GPS data has also become emblematic of how digital tools and navigation are another way of experiencing landscape in contemporary culture.

Land Report Collective is a geographically disparate group of artists comprised of artists Leticia Bajuyo, Jason Sheridan Brown, Brian R. Jobe, David L. Jones, Patrick Kikut, and Shelby Shadwell, whose interdisciplinary artworks engage landscape as subject matter and also inspiration for conceptual ideas about land use and human relationships with the natural world.

https://news.uindy.edu/
This exhibition includes artwork by:
Leticia R. Bajuyo www.leticiabajuyo.com
Jason S. Brown www.jasonsheridanbrown.com
Brian R. Jobe www.brianjobe.com
David L. Jones www.davidlawrencejones.com
Patrick Kikut www.patrickkikut.com
Shelby Shadwell www.shelbyshadwell.com

I am honored that my pieces from my ongoing Hypergrass artificial turf series are on display in this group exhibition:

Hypergrass Runner: Maze, 2022
Hypergrass Runner: Diagonals, 2022
Hypergrass Runner: Checkerboard, 2022
Artificial turf, tarp, adhesive, and hardware
(images from installation at CityWay Gallery in Indianapolis, Indiana)

In this series of site-sensitive installations, Bajuyo creates a multi-layered experience highlighting impact of desire, re-arbitration of value and our romantic but often dangerous relationship with nature. The artist uses artificial turf to question our obsessive and repetitive pursuit of a “well-manicured lawn” and desire to contain nature. Supporting these mosaics is a commonly used blue tarp, which has become symbolic of natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes for its use to shield or protect desired items from natural elements. This inexpensive and easily discarded material creates a danger for the natural environment. This conflicted argument of nature versus plastic is echoed in the tension of the bungee cords stretching this material toward itself.

Hypergrass Landscapes, 2022 Artificial turf, wood, and adhesive
(images from installation at CityWay Gallery in Indianapolis, Indiana)

Bajuyo’s drawings, sculptures, site-specific works and large-scale installations highlight the impact of desire and the machines that create more desire. While these abstract patterns are aesthetically pleasing they reference the often frustrating and continuous re-arbitration that comes with homeownership. Using artificial turf in this series of landscapes, the artist’s critical vision questions societal norms of lawn care and our comfort, containment, and control of nature in the pursuit of a “well-manicured lawn.” Acknowledging that the American dream of homeownership is sugar coated, the artist is commenting on the joy and repulsion of our society’s obsessive struggle with nature and our neighbors that is cyclical.