JW Toftness thesis exhibition: 'Eidolon'

Eidolon brings together multiple installments from JW Toftness’s long-term project An apology made for the matter of material in metaversal times (AMMMMT). With the flood of digital devices, compounded by the hyperconnectivity between both people and things, humanity’s relationship with technology has expanded and become exacerbated. This dynamic has led to psychologically separated realities, with the digital realm even bearing its own ontologically distinct state: real vs. digital, physical vs. virtual.

The works on view, which span photography, video, and sculpture, employ a purposeful combination of virtual and visceral elements, particularly through the transfiguration of abject sculptural objects. Made of papier-mâché — a paltry, pulpy material — the main sculptures act in conjunction with, and counterpoint to, the advanced tools of digital imaging and photographic post-production, serving as a critical link between both process and concept. AMMMMT ultimately interrogates contemporary life through philosophical and analogical lenses to recognize the diminishing distance between technologically motivated abstraction and physical reality.

Opening reception: Friday, April 10, 5–8 p.m.