A short ten minute drive from Carnegie takes you into a puzzling landscape, filled with representations of a “Home”.
Home, whatever that may mean to you, is the central idea that artist Olivia Erlanger tackles in her new exhibition “If Today Were Tomorrow,” At the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. Running from April 20 to Oct. 27, this artist’s soloist debut challenges the concepts of suburbia and our surrounding environment.
Located on the lower floor of CAMH, visitors are greeted with separations of large walls, each with different frames of view. Each frame contains a unique glimpse into Erlanger’s interpretation. As you walk around, you begin to grow into a larger and larger idea of living. Starting with miniature sculptures of the earth, and the environment — you feel a sense of larger life.
You are looking at a landscape that you also reside on.
Taking a glimpse away from a bird’s eye view of your own life, a timer counts down from a large projector. Guests are seated on a soft couch, draped with cloth. A table is placed in the corner with two quaint chairs to pair with. The soft yellow light of the lamp comforts the exhibit from its harsh color palette.
Perhaps the lamp reminds you of a home you yearn for.
A movie begins to play on the projector, and you watch the new life of a woman in her 20s. Maybe 30s. The actress portrays the ordinary. The spoiled milk you pour down the drain, the neglected foods in the fridge and the messy room you come home to. You suddenly realize that home is simply a routine, as you walk away from the movie.
You turn around and find giant, bright orbs on the ground that caught your attention when you entered the exhibit.
They are placed neatly on the ground. Or they are perhaps suspended. It’s an illusion you can’t quite capture at first look. As you take a closer peek, you notice that they have rings similar to the ones of Saturn. Thick, and protruding.
Surrounding the rings are cube figures that are actually homes, buildings and streets. They are reminiscent of a childhood Monopoly game. One color, one size, but placed intentionally.
Stepping back from the two orbs, you are observing a space that is a mirror to your life. You begin to realize that this really is our home. A planet with buildings, houses and streets.
Or maybe this is a prediction of the future. Maybe one day we will place our buildings and houses and streets onto a planet with rings, and call it just another game of Monopoly. Because that is what we seem to do.
As you leave the exhibition, grabbing a pamphlet of Erlanger’s work. You begin to understand that home is more than just the structure. Erlanger’s exhibit explores the meaning of home to all of us. She makes us question past the physical representations we see in our everyday lives.
Home is where the heart is, and home is wherever you want to find it.
