Scapecraft
In the first issue of Aperture Magazine, famous landscape photographer Ansel Adams writes: “To the vast majority of people a photograph is an image of something within their direct experience; a more-or-less factual reality. It is difficult for them to realize that the photograph can be the source of experience, as well as the reflection of spiritual awareness of the world and of self.”
In Scapecraft, artists Tansy Xiao and Jani Zubkovs play with landscapes while exploring larger concepts of colonialism, politics, and visual/phonological language. Xiao, with her digital landscapes, brings to the foreground historic power dynamics through repeating phrases and iconic imagery. Zubkovs takes a different approach, looking at landscapes through different visual languages across the United States.
Curated by Shannon Finnell.
Updated: March 8, 2023
HERE is now a mask-optional space. All patrons attending HERE performances and events will no longer be required to wear masks.
We ask all audience members to please stay home if they have a sore throat, are feeling sick in any other way, or have been recently exposed to COVID-19, and to please contact the box office for refunds or exchanges.
All of our performers, technicians, and staff members are required to be fully vaccinated and masked unless they are onstage performing. Additionally, they are participating in an active testing regimen to keep everyone as safe as possible.
HERE reserves the right to revise protocols as the rate of transmission changes and in light of new scientific data that may present itself.
While strongly believing that the key to social change is compassionate relationships that lead to genuine support, Shannon Finnell’s work attempts to embody that lesson through the exploration and deconstruction of supportive gestures and moments. Pulling from her BA in Studio Art and Peace Studies from Goucher College in Baltimore, MD, the marriage of visual art and questioning oppressive social structures is where Finnell finds inspiration for her work. She received an MFA in Fine Art Photography from the Parsons School of Design at The New School in 2018 and continues to engage with concepts of support through experimentation of video, installation, photographic practices, collaboration with dances, and curation. www.shannonfinnell.com
Tansy Xiao is an artist, curator and writer based in New York who creates theatrical installations with non-linear narratives that often extend beyond the fourth wall. Her work explores the immense power and inherent inadequacy of language through the assemblage of stochastic audio and recontextualized objects. She finds solace in the unknown, ludicrousness in the authorities, and absurdity in the geopolitical demarcations that separate and differentiate people. www.tansyxiao.com
Jani Zubkovs is a multi-disciplinary artist based in New York City. Working primarily within photography, he received his BFA from FIT in 2011, and is currently a MFA candidate at Hunter College. Zubkovs’ work has been exhibited both domestically and internationally, reaching as far as Bogota, Colombia, and as close as Tribeca. In addition to his practice in photography, he is a member of several prominent bands, which has led to worldwide touring and many recorded albums. www.janizubkovs.com