ART CITIES:Los Angeles-Lauren Halsey

The American artist Lauren Halsey builds fantasy sculptures and environments that remix ephemera she gathers with hyperreal nature, technicolors, outerspace and Funk. The works exist as spatial metaphors for optimism, self-determination and love. Halsey holds an MFA from Yale University (2014) and a BFA from California Institute of the Arts (2012).

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Museum of Contemporary Art Archive

Α site-specific installation work entitled “we still here, there” created  for The Museum’s  of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Grand Avenue location in Los Angeles. Lauren took up residence at MOCA Grand Avenue, where she build and regularly  will change an immersive space resembling a fantastical system of caves that viewers are invited to linger in and explore. This environment serves as a visionary archive reflecting the diversity of everyday Black cultural experiences in South Central L.A., the artist’s home since childhood. Halsey’s installation incorporates an abundance of found objects such as incense, oils, tchotchkes, figurines, mix CDs, local newspaper clippings, and vernacular portraits, creating a vibrant record of a community facing rapid gentrification and development. At the same time, the work serves as a speculative space, evoking imaginary futures for South Central through landscapes and rock carvings made by hand, miniature shrines, fountains, and sound installations. The environment reflects Halsey’s deep investment in preserving and supporting her neighborhood as well as her exuberant engagement with diverse global references including the music of Parliament-Funkadelic, ancient Chinese Buddhist caves, and the habitable sculptures of French modernist André Bloc. At the heart of Halsey’s project is the idea that architecture can be a form of empowerment and social transformation for marginalized communities and a way to envision, in the artist’s words, “a freer, funkier, and more optimistic tomorrow.” The artist will work inside of the exhibition during select museum hours, enabling museum visitors to experience the installation as it evolves in real time.

Info: The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 152 North Central Avenue, Los Angeles, Duration: 4/3-3/9/18, Days & Hours: Mon, Wed & Fri 11:00-18:00, Thu 11:00-20:00, Sat-Sun 11:00-17:00, www.moca.org