Using ropes found along the edges of Galveston Bay and the Ship Channel, discarded lumber, clothing scraps, plant life, photographs, and reflective mylar, Crossing investigates ghosts of industrial landscapes, trans consciousness, and nonlinear time and place. Through a series of architectural weavings, this project seeks to acknowledge the violence of capitalist extraction, while envisioning new forms of connection. The weavings speak to an experience that is present and embodied while simultaneously flexible, permeable, and impermanent. In this way, the work is a metaphor for a lived trans experience and also a call to embrace trans as a technological tool to enact futures of social and environmental justice. What can be learned from lives in constant transition, especially as we continue to navigate climate crises? What can we, regardless of identity, learn from transing as an adaptive survival strategy and a tactic for collective repair?
Ian Gerson is an interdisciplinary artist and educator born, raised, and currently based in Houston. Working at the intersections of sculpture, installation, and community engagement, Ian’s recent creative work investigates climate injustices, transing, and longings for queer utopias. Ian has shared sculptures and immersive installations at various art spaces in the US and Mexico including Galveston Artist Residency, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Socrates Sculpture Park, and AIR Gallery. Ian has participated in residencies at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Galveston Artist Residency, MacDowell, Millay Arts, Snug Harbor Artist Residency, and LMCC’s Swing Space on Governors Island, NY. Ian holds a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Texas at Austin and an MFA in Sculpture + Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University.
A special thank you to Houston Arts Alliance, the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, The Brown Foundation and all who have helped to support our programing.
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