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November 2, 2023- March 8, 2024

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Escape – Route by Luciana Abait is a narrative installation of sculpture, photography and video that positions the viewer as a spectator on a road trip through the American West. An enormous sculptural map calls attention to the physicality and interconnectedness of our world. The marks upon it that define our cities, roads and divisions are a stark reminder of human intervention and the decreasing opportunities to experience nature unblemished. A large photograph taken through a rain-splattered windshield of a driving car is the first in a series of images that drives the audience through ever-changing environments with the final goal to reach water – the symbol of life and renewal. The exhibition concludes with hypnotic video of images that continually morph from one landscape into another.

 

The images in the exhibition were taken from the road and show indominable landscapes, monumental mountains, snow-dusted vegetation and images of Lake Powell, a water reservoir that in recent times nearly dried up due to climate change and human management of earth’s water allocation. Seen from a distance, the landscapes appear to be idyllic and are reminiscent of 18th Century English landscape paintings. Upon closer viewing one sees that not everything is a utopia; a close examination of the details reveals evidence of the reach of our human imprint and a reminder of the power of human influence.

 

At the core of Abait’s practice is the hope for humankind to find belonging in a world besieged by global catastrophes, environmental disasters, health crises and the omnipresent evil of racial discrimination. Escape – Route reminds us that an escape into the natural world is paralleled by an internal journey of discovery and reflection where we can marvel, wonder and ultimately strive for the fundamental necessity to preserve our lands and ourselves.