Nothing matters [...] mountain.
Nothing matters [...] mountain.
Nothing matters: a cartoon image of the interior of a bus. One man in a purple sweater with a caption above reading "nothing matters". He looks despaired with bags under his eyes and wrinkles in his brow. He is looking out the left hand window at a gloomy and rough rock-face. The second man wears a bright orangey yellow sweater with a caption above him also reading "nothing matters". He looks jubilant, looking out the right hand window at a sunny, scenic view of rolling green hills and winding creek. He has a seatbelt on and is taking a photo or video with his phone. The road stretches away behind them as they move together up the mountain. is an exhibition by collaborating artists Louella Michael and Ruby Stevens in the QCAD Grey Street Gallery from 23rd Jan - 14th Feb.
Nothing matters [...] mountain. is a duo exhibition questioning structures of success and usefulness within capitalism, embracing redundancy and failure as a vehicle. Through a capitalist-critical, neurodiverse and absurdist lens, the artists present a series of sculptural, installation and video works that question why all things must be measured for worth under a metric of ‘working’.
Using out-of-context machinery, toys, puppets and games, Ruby Stevens and Louella Michael contrast “wasted time” and employable productivity. By placing mechanisms of productivity in contexts of uselessness, the artists question normative metrics of success through irony, exaggeration and humour. In doing so, they seek to celebrate activities that may fall outside of traditional productivity.
Ruby Stevens, Fluid Dynamics (7 levels).
Louella Michael, Your Friend.
Ruby Stevens, Let me do it for you Darling.
Louella Michael, Pinocchio.
Louella Michael, Forever and Ever.
Ruby Stevens, caution men at work. Louella Michael and Ruby Stevens, Artists Work.
Louella Michael and Ruby Stevens, Artists Work.