Interactions
June 16-30, 2017

MW Projects presented site-specific installations by artists Rhys Hecox and Jenny Wong-Stanley in conjunction with the opening of Doing/Living Marketplace at 218 West 57th Street. This 1897 French Gothic building was formerly the beloved Lee's Art Shop and the American Society for Civil Engineers clubhouse.

For more information, please contact info@mwprojects.art


Melinda Wang Lilac 2.jpg

Rhys Hecox
Hole, 2015
Color, 16mm film, HD, 2k and 4k video and found objects
Runtime: 5 minutes

This meditative film about seasonal change and transformation was originally commissioned for MW Projects's exhibition aboard the S.S. Lilac steamship. In all the shots in the film,  the camera is pointed down at the ground, aligning the camera image with the projected image, effectively cutting a visual hole into the floor. For more information, please visit www.rhyshecox.com.  

The slim, supple bodies of fish swim through this portal-like apparition above a green field of upwelling sediment. The shot changes: a white petal drifts aimlessly in a shallow flow of muddy water. Then, a bee nuzzles the wind-tousled petals of a rosily blossoming flower. In shots that follow like a train of thought, we follow water through a stream of transformations: from snow to ice to water; from rain to snowfall to ice. Sometimes these associations are physical, in relation to the water, other times they are visual, in closer association to the quality of Hecox’s filmography. Mirage-like in the shimmering pool of the projection, shots proceed through abrupt alterations in scale and orientation, all of which demonstrate a sensitivity to the perspective of the object being captured; in a shot taken directly perpendicular to the ground, we watch snow fall and accumulate on a city sidewalk. The rocks that surround this projection heighten our sense that we look into the depths of a strangely animated pool, while also pursuing the idea of transformation as they exist in almost mocking relation to the concrete floor upon which they rest. Can there be kinship between rocky crags and the cement of city streets?
— Nicole Kaack, Whitehot Magazine

Jenny Wong-Stanley
Interactions, 2017
Conifer wood and wire
Dimensions variable

The structure is an example of balance between transitional moods and spatial awareness. The recycled wood pieces represent the interactions we have with  nature and are meant to change according to the viewer's perspective. For more information, please visit www.artofplants.com.


MW Projects is a cultural production and art advisory firm dedicated to bringing contemporary art to historic sites, non-traditional venues and liminal spaces.  We work with emerging and established artists to transform environments and encourage dialogue about contemporary art and culture. 

Past projects include:

Lilac Arts Series
Passing 
#Sunset