Something Like Yesterday

2021

Something Like Yesterday, on display at Contracommon in Beecave, TX, is an exhibition of work by Aria Brownell ( website / instagram ) and Sidney Westenskow. The exhibition will run from March 6th through April 2nd, with an opening reception on Saturday, March 6th from 6 - 9pm.

Aria Brownell and Sidney Westenskow are artists investigating memory and the pockets of messy nostalgia that define one’s self. Memory is packaged in a vague understanding of events described by fleeting moments, pictures, words, physical objects, and recollections. Both artists are working with a form of portraiture and self portraiture. The viewer is invited to experience a recapturing of consciousness, represented by the cutting and manipulating of discarded clothing by Westenskow and the reimagining of memories in oil paint by Brownell. The reminiscence on display in their exhibition does not abide by a neat timeline, but rather is experienced all at once in unpredictable patterns. Recounting moments of emotional privacy, friendly intimacy, loneliness, longing, and play, Brownell and Westenskow are both the voyeur and the observed. Amorphous collections of thoughts are reflections of a past with and without them, a life as evidence of contact and separation. The artists are in conversation with sentimentality and familiarity, blurred recognition, and the deconstruction and reconstruction of self.

Learning Bed (2020-2021)

Learning Bed (2020-2021) by Sidney Westenskow, The Day After the Last Ever Thirsty Games (2018) by Aria Brownell, and Nightstand installation featuring Self Portrait (Un-tweezed) (2021) and diary (2021) by Aria Brownell.

Learning Bed…

Learning Bed (2020-2021) is a result of the first year of Covid-19 quarantine restrictions and the impact these restrictions had on Westenskow’s artistic process, influences, and personal restrictions. While spending more time at home, Westenskow was increasingly influenced by domesticity. As a result, she began exploring ways her newfound interest in fiber and textile construction played into traditional forms of sewing such as quilting, clothing construction, and toy making. These processes were also an attractive option for the artist during isolation because it was a mess free and safe practice to work with in a space that wasn’t designed for getting messy actions like painting, inking, or sculpting.

Learning Bed features a compilation of new skills like embroidery and hand stitching as well as newer ways of using tools that Westenskow already had at her disposal like her sewing machine. While the bed includes common motifs present in much of her past work, such as the more obvious uses of clothing and the abstracted use of self portraiture, Westenskow is also going out of her way to experiment with ideas that she has yet to develop fully in past works like depression and intimate exposure. These themes are demonstrated through the use of found objects in the installation which suggest an unkept space and the depiction of sexually suggestive objects and body parts one might find in Westenskow’s bed, like vibrators, nipples, or pubic hair.

The dismembered clothing on the quilt resembles piles of unfolded laundry, the messiness being emphasized by place-filling objects between the seams giving the suggestion of trash, lost items, and unfinished crafting projects strewn across the bed. Many pieces are interactive, like touchable fluffy appliqués, hanging bands and threads, and functional zippers. The bed is meant to be explored both visually and physically by the viewer, creating a tension-filled environment where the artist’s personal space and items are being exposed and tampered with by strangers. This tension is what Sidney Westenskow aims to create in a space. One where the viewer feels welcome to explore in childlike and creative ways while also feeling like they’re doing something they’re not necessarily supposed to be doing. Like at any moment they might be caught snooping.

Entrance to the bedroom, featuring At least six hugs (2020), Untitled (reclining nude) (2020), and paintings (Lillinoah [2020], Penis Envy [2020], Embrace [2020]) by Aria Brownell.

Coffee table installation, featuring Resting, in person. (2020), Untitled (2020), and Untitled (2020).

Central gallery space, featuring Attached at Ankle and Waist (2020), Untitled (2020), Heel to toe to heel to toe to heel to toe… (2021), Untitled (2021), Socks I only have one of (2019), and L>R Something Different: Dad (2019), Zion (2020), Ring Necked (2020), and Dungeon Master (2020) by Aria Brownell.

Picnic Corner installation featuring Big Bear (The Letter E) (2020), Not like other girls (2021) and 12:30 PM (Santa Barbara) (2021) by Aria Brownell.

Tea party by the window, featuring Untitled (2021), Winter Weight Gain (2020) and printed Call Out of Work (2018) by Aria Brownell.