An installation in collaboration with Mark Joshua Epstein
Vane Gallery, Newcastle Upon Tyne UK
On view 13 Jan 2017 through 26 February 2017
In 'Hold Tight', Mark Joshua Epstein and Stina Puotinen invite the viewer in for a shared experience in response to recent political events in the US and UK. The installation they have created references both the physical space of the waiting room and the often anxious sensation of waiting.
A world away from the neutral colours and decor we associate with institutional waiting rooms, Puotinen and Epstein have instead created a visually dynamic space, where the familiar is rendered unfamiliar. A space where the organic is synthetic, where innocuous patterns are in fact drawn from the security industry, and where a nostalgic feel-good poster has been
updated for this era.
As the title implies, the artists aim to expose and highlight this act of waiting, a sense that this time of collectively held breath thrust upon us by forces outside of our control doesn't have to be borne in isolation. Puotinen and Epstein implore the viewer: *hold tight* to yourself, *hold tight* to your beliefs and *hold tight* to each other.
