ERIN MORRISON: COLONY
SEPTEMBER 7 – OCTOBER 5
OPENING RECEPTION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 6-9PM
Ochi Projects is pleased to announce Colony a solo exhibition by Erin Morrison. This is her second show with the gallery. For this exhibition, Morrison will unveil a new body of painted bas-relief sculptures influenced by historical currency produced in the European settled colonies of the New World. Please join us for the opening on September 7th from 6-9PM.
Greeting the viewer upon entry is a three-panel mural depicting 15 snakes. Writhing in rows and woven together, the serpents create a mesmerizing, undulating patterned cloth that recalls the deceptive serpent of Genesis. Cast in tinted gypsum and rendered in low relief, the tessellation references histories of weaving and domestic labor, while evoking the sinister undertones surrounding snakes throughout mythology. While some stories connect the serpent to humankind’s fall from paradise, many more stories have placed similar blame on the true root of all
evil: Money. “Inimica Tyrannis America” is a Latin phrase that appeared on some of the first coins designed by the United States of America shortly after the Declaration of Independence. Although the phrase was broadly interpreted as “America fiercely opposes tyranny,” literally translated, however, the phrase actually reads, “Unfriendly Tyrant, America.” The coin depicts a female figure standing with one foot on a British crown while holding a bow in one hand and a downward-facing arrow in another. Today, the irony of the coin’s symbolism, which was clearly
lost on our forefathers, challenges whatever noble beliefs one might hold about the way American history has been presented. The horrific way early Americans “settled” this country is riddled with troubling contradictions that we, as a country, must take into account moving
forward.
To create these works, Morrison worked with hand-cut stencils, casting each over-sized coin in a polymer-modified gypsum and meticulously gilding each piece with metal leaf. Morrison then patinated each coin using a combination of traditional processes involving vinegar, baking soda, liver of sulfur and egg whites and urea to give each piece a unique and realistic chemically aged appearance.
Press Release: Ochi Projects, 2019
