Journey From Longjiang

In her site-specific installation, Sarah Bliss unites distinct cultures and historical moments through ordinary materials and subtle gestures. Journey from Longjiang uses the history of the Artspace building, originally a furniture store, to comment on the effects of globalization and consumption in contemporary society. The sculptural forms suspended from the ceiling and situated on the gallery floor and wall are constructed from the packing materials that protect furniture during transport from China to the U.S. The video loosely documents the journey of the furniture from a manufacturing facility in Longjiang to the United States.  Typically, landfilled or burned, Bliss repurposes the packaging materials into handsomely crafted abstracted forms that echo those found in traditional Chinese landscape painting. Evoking the extraordinary from the mundane, Bliss’s work speaks to the realities of capitalism in the 21st century, yet offers moments of quietude during anxious times.