Wonderland

Daily, beginning at dusk

Wonderland is an exhibition in video format featuring three artists whose works attempt to create a portrait of a place, often using impressionistic and non-narrative methods.

Basma Alsharif (b. 1983, Kuwait City, Kuwait) presents Ouroboros (2017), an homage to the Gaza Strip, named after the well-known symbol of the snake eating its own tail. The video follows one man through five different landscapes; it marks the end as the beginning, forgetting as the way forward, and the failure of civilization.

Iván Argote (b. 1983, Bogotá, Colombia) presents Fructose (2016), based on the tree under which Isaac Newton sat when he was hit by an apple and suddenly realized the existence of gravity. The location of the exact tree was called into question by Newton’s biographer. Argote uses surreal visual and sonic effects to heighten our awareness of how science paints images in our understanding of its supposed “objective” reality.

Joiri Minaya (b. 1990, New York, New York) presents Labadee (2017), a new video in which the artist paints a portrait of a resort town on the northern coast of Haiti called Labadee. Rented to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the town is surrounded by high fences that keep out local neighbors. With a slow pace, still and panning shots, and a poetic voiceover, the work oscillates between expository documentary and travelogue parody.

Organized by Melanie Kress, High Line Art Associate Curator.