Skylar Perez: [De]Composition: Growing Ground

September 29 - November 11,2023

From Co-Opt Research + Projects: "Co-Opt Research + Projects invites you to attend the opening reception on Saturday, September 30, 4-8pm, of [De]Composition: Growing Ground, an exhibition of research into site-specific soil cultures, scales, and action, by Lubbock-born, New York-based spatial researcher and designer Skylar Perez. On Friday, September 29, the gallery will be open at 7pm for a performance by Santa Fe-based Theo Krantz, and Wolfforth, Texas-based Spencer Gaydon. This research investigates the contingent world of microbial life specific to the region of Llano Estacado, peering into the microscopic realm to collaborate with and observe these organisms unseen to the human eye. This is represented through an aerial view of the Llano Estacado landscape on the floor of the gallery, with glass sculptures containing local soils and living fungal communities, along with five MicroLandscapes cropped with prairie grasses, cotton, corn, sorghum, and site-specific soil microbes and agar growing in twelve-inch petri dishes. "My work brings this hidden microbial urbanism to a human scale, allowing us to contend with the intricate pathways and communities that parallel a bustling city on an ecological time scale, directly beneath our feet. This work navigates through a network of interconnected scales, encompassing geologic time, water bodies, farming systems, and fungal networks. The works act as a catalyst to redefine our relationship with soil and the critical role it plays in our lives. By making time for soil care, I hope to reorient our relationship with the land and land management, particularly in the arid region of Llano Estacado, Lubbock, Texas. "Soil is a vibrant, living entity teeming with microbial activity, contributing systematically to local ecosystems and the overall health of our planet. How do we build and nurture the foundation of life itself? Through art, science, and observation, I offer lenses that illuminate the unseen world beneath our feet and emphasize the urgency of soil care in a time when it's needed more than ever." About the artist: Skylar Perez is a Lubbock-born, New York-based spatial researcher and designer whose research delves into the realms of ecology, biology, and architecture, envisioned through a transcalar exploration that reorients how we operate within contingent Earth. Synthesizing methods from fields such as technology, architecture, and agriculture, he seeks to decompose the rigidity of humancentric design by envisioning futures where human and non-human residents collaborate in constructing Earth. Weaving together threads of geology, soil microbiology, and architectural principles, his work acts as a catalyst to make time and care, fathoming the intricacies of unseen worlds that operate beyond our human eyes. A graduate of Texas Tech University and Rhode Island School of Design, Perez’s work is informed by scientific research, biology, geology, and architecture. His works have been exhibited in the Museum of Texas Tech University: Land Art 2019 (Lubbock, TX); RISD x Hyundai Exhibition: Unseen (Providence, RI); Hyundai Studios: Metaverse Exhibition (Seoul, South Korea). He has also co-curated the 2022 RISD x Hyundai Research Collaborative: Adaptive Ecologies (Providence, RI)."

Performance: September 29, 2023 | 7-9 pm
Longitudes: Theo Krantz, Spencer Gaydon Doors 7pm / Music 8pm, $5-$15

Reception: September 30, 2023 | 4-8 pm

CO-OPt Research + Projects 4204 Boston Ave
Lubbock, Texas 79413
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