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Justin McCabe
Issues in Contemporary Art
Professor Gelburd
4/11/16
Exhibition Review
Alexa Horochowskis exhibit titled Club Disminuci n (Club of Diminishing
Returns) at the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery located at College of the Holy
Cross takes the viewer on an oceanic adventure guided by multiple video
projections, flotsam, black and white photography, giant kelp sculptures, and bronze
sculptures. Horochowski had begun developing the concept behind the exhibition
during her artist residency at CASAPOLI, Columo, Chile in 2012-2013. 1 The location
in which Horochowski resided was situated on a cliffside overlooking the Pacific
Ocean, which inspired her to create an exhibit based on what the ocean has to offer.
Horochowski pursues the physical form, using naturalized garbage 2 as source
material, which she distills into distinctive objects that suggest the natural history
of a post-human earth3. The use of sculpture, video projection, an audio track
playing back the sounds of waves, large-scale digital prints, audio of a distant
ocean, and the distinct smell of sea water come together to depict a scene which
encourages the viewer to question the sustainability of a consumption society that

1 Horochowski, A. Club Disminucin Iris and B. Cantor Art Gallery. Worcester, MA,
April 1, 2016
2 Horochowski, A. Club Disminucin
3 Horochowski, A. Club Disminucin

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exacerbates inequalities and undermines our environmental resource base. 4
Horochowski focuses her work on addressing the interrelatedness of the natural
environment and the industrial world by creating artwork that is a combination of
the two.

4 College of the Holy Cross, Current Exhibition: Club Disminuci n Published online
at http://holycross.edu/iris-and-b-gerald-cantor-art-gallery/current-exhbition-0 [cited
April 9, 2016]

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Upon entering the exhibition, you are instantly immersed by the distinct smell of the
ocean which emanates off of oceanic matter such as cochayuyo (giant kelp), debris,
and other materials once retrieved from the ocean by Horochowski. Once your
senses are properly cleansed with the smell salty smell of the ocean, you are ready
to traverse the adventure which lies ahead. Immediately past a table of various
objects including small pieces of kelp, pumice, seashell-imprinted fossils, sponges,
and more, you will find three separate videos projected onto their respective
screens. Horochowski uses videography and large scale projections to depict the
dramatically shifting kelp beds, in constant and relentless motion. She takes this
video and inverts it to where it makes a mirror-like effect which forces you to focus
on the sheer force of the ocean current. The sheer amount of kelp-to-water ratio in
the video creates an almost oil-like effect. Chile, where Horochowski had been

located during the production of her exhibit had faced a devastating oil spill that
affected local fisheries and wildlife, an instance in which the industrialized world had
once again tainted nature.
Cochayuyo, Video Projection, 20145
5 2014 Alexa Horochowski: Club Disminucin, Published online at
http://www.alexahorochowski.com/test/ [cited April 9, 2016]

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These projections are surrounded by black and white photographs of barnacles and
kelp which have been magnified to an extreme degree. Bronze sculptures as well as
the physical pieces of barnacles and kelp are arranged in-between each of the
photographs hanging on the walls. The bronze sculptures resemble kelp and tangled
seaweed, but from an industrialized point of view. The juxtaposition of the real
object placed next to a bronze sculpture allows Horochowski to create a sense of
interrelatedness between the two pieces. Along with the sculptures imitating ocean
matter, Horochowski also molds the kelp into cuboidal forms that merge the
mechanical with the organic and living. Sponges are translated into bronze so that
they resemble pumice, and natural materials take on the qualities of man-made
objects.

Cochayuyo Mass, 20146

Gum Cube, 20147

The art included in this exhibit are individual puzzle pieces that when put
together signify an ever-growing problem between nature and the
mechanical/technologic. Humans are creating a large impact on ours oceans and
Horochowski brings this to light. Oceans around the world are becoming human
garbage disposals, which she had made clear with a table set up of things she found
in the ocean nearby her artist residency. The Specimen Table consisted of golf
balls, packing peanuts, a cut-up credit card, a Styrofoam cup, and a shoe. Along
with these objects, she also included an array of objects that belong to nature, such
as a trilobite, pyrite mineral, geode, and scatterings of seaweed. The scatterings of
6 Horochowski, A. Club Disminucin, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery
7 2014 Alexa Horochowski: Club Disminucin, Published online at
http://www.alexahorochowski.com/test/ [cited April 9, 2016]

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the seaweed show that humans have not yet destroyed the ocean, but objects
created by man are beginning to overpower and take control of the waters. A recent
study took place which mapped the worlds oceans and the total impact which
humans had on them. This study concluded that 40% of the world's oceans have
been heavily affected by human activities, including fishing, coastal development
and pollution from shipping.

Horochowski makes it clear that the corruption of

nature by humans must be slowed down, or the ocean will be dominated by

manmade objects and the artwork she has created may see its place in the near
future. From a multiculturalist approach, the location which she stayed at during her
artist residency, as well as her home country, provided her with a perspective from
both the U.S. and Chile. This allowed her to show from personal experience that the
ocean affects your way of life no matter which country you may reside in. The
objects and art on display showcase what our world is coming to, which are not
limited to one location in any sense.
The works included in this exhibit convey a dark future for mankind. The bronze
castings of kelp entangling itself much like a net, show a dim future for our oceans.
The rust-like bronze, the black and white large-scale photographs, and skeleton-like
barnacles show a disintegrating environment around us. Horochowski suggests that
the assortment of objects present may be a sign of a post-human future. There may
come a day where this is now considered the norm for planet Earth.

8 Protect Planet Ocean, Published online at

http://www.protectplanetocean.org/collections/introduction/introbox/humanimpact/in
troduction-item.html [cited April 9, 2016]