Literally and figuratively haunting – the iconic MOAH Cedar building in Lancaster, Calif., itself is said to have a resident ghost or two – Joy Ray’s gorgeous, ghostly, somber, yet uplifting exhibition A mirror with breath like stone possesses the viewer’s spirit.
Filling all three gallery spaces in the building, transparent archival images cover the windows; strangely broken words cast a spell on black textiles; heirlooms culled from Lancaster’s history archives are displayed in cases; and wavering black banners trail ceiling to ground with images and words that compel close viewing.
Ray has often had an interest in the spiritual and otherworldly, using tactile materials and often textile. Here, that interest is allowed to fully express itself in an entirely immersive setting that can’t help but move viewers and hijack the soul as she elegantly offers the spectral its full due.
Using textile sculptures that resemble gravestones, she depicts historic news from the Antelope Valley Ledger-Gazette, adding layers of charcoal and sand in “Spectres,” in which fabric on armature shapes these suspended, eerie worlds and words. Other works, less floatingly ephemeral, are created from paint, twine, and fiberfill on fabric with impressions from the newspaper’s front page, such as in “longtime companion” and “to dream, to fall.”
Her “hall of shadows, hall of mirrors” is created from silk modal, utilizing markings from historic microfilm the artist poured over to uncover. There are hand painted words, sentences spoken by voices of the past.
The glass plate images on the gallery windows include photographs of families and children such as those shown in “Lancaster Hotel New Year’s Day.”
In another gallery room, the lustrous, long-gone landscape of an undeveloped Antelope Valley is represented with “Lancaster looking toward ‘Old Baldy’ after a heavy snowstorm” covers the existing view. Masking and utilizing the shifting light through the gallery windows is an inspired element of the show, casting a mysterious light and illuminating, literally and figuratively, the haunting past. The entire exhibition is cast in a sepia light, adding to the honestly transfixing nature of experiencing the artist’s works. Perhaps it is the power of ghostly attraction, or most likely, the alchemic miracle of her art. Audio tracks such as 1922’s “I’m Gonna Get You” by Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Hounds and other thematically edited musical riffs support the immersivity of the exhibition and add an additional layer of experience.
Joy Ray, like the spectres and shapes, history, hopes, loss, and small miracles of the past that she depicts, is a force to be reckoned with. This is a major show that captures the brevity, fragility, and enduring nature of human life – and the eternal of the great hereafter.
MOAH Cedar is located at 44857 Lancaster Blvd. in Lancaster. The exhibition runs through November 19.
- Genie Davis; photos by Genie Davis
Loving this show and your writing, Genie. Big congrats to Joy. All the immersive mediums (sic) are so satisfying to take in. Rich and satisfying.