The hardwood table

SOLO EXHIBITION PRESENTED BY GEHEIM GALLERY
BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON
NOVEMBER 1 - 25, 2024
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​​FOR THE SAKE OF EXPLANATION, LET'S RETURN TO THE EXAMPLE OF THE HARDWOOD TABLE—THE ONE THAT LOOKS LIKE IT IS STILL, EVEN THOUGH IN REALITY IT IS IN CONSTANT MOTION. INTERNALLY, AT THE MOLECULAR LEVEL, THAT SAME HARDWOOD IS GOING THROUGH A PROCESS OF AGING. IT IS DETERIORATING AND DEGRADING. THIS IS ITS INTERNAL MOVEMENT, AND IF LEFT TO JUST SIT THERE IN A VACUUM, COMPLETELY DISCONNECTED FROM THE WORLD, THE HARDWOOD TABLE, OF ITS OWN ACCORD, WOULD SIMPLY DISINTEGRATE INTO DUST AS PART OF AN INTERNAL CONTRADICTION BETWEEN THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY NEEDED TO MAINTAIN THE MOLECULAR BONDS. THE HARDWOOD TABLE IS NOT A THING, BUT A PROCESS UNFOLDING IN FRONT OF US. IT'S JUST THAT IN THIS CASE THE TABLE'S PROCESS IS SO SLOW THAT WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO OBSERVE ITS MOVEMENT WITH JUST OUR EYES. 

HOWEVER, SINCE NOTHING EXISTS IN ISOLATION AND EVERYTHING IS RELATED, THE PROCESS OF AGING THAT THE TABLE IS GOING THROUGH IS POTENTIALLY CONDITIONED BY OTHER EXTERNAL FACTORS. FOR INSTANCE, PERHAPS THE TABLE SITS IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT IN A HOT, MOIST CLIMATE. PERHAPS IT GETS WET FROM THE RAIN, OR MAYBE IT IS JUST SITTING OUTSIDE IN THE ELEMENTS. THESE EXTERNAL CONDITIONS (ITS RELATIONS) CONTRIBUTE TO THE AGING OF THE HARDWOOD TABLE BECAUSE THE TEMPERATURE, LIGHT, AND MOISTURE CAN ALL PLAY A ROLE IN SPEEDING UP (OR SLOWING DOWN) DEGRADATION AND DETERIORATION. DEPENDING ON THE CONTEXT—ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH EVERYTHING ELSE—OUR TABLE MIGHT LAST FOR TWO HUNDRED YEARS, OR IT MIGHT LAST FOR TWENTY. OR, OUR HOUSE MIGHT CATCH ON FIRE AND THE TABLE MIGHT ME A FIERY END IN A MATTER OF MINUTES. (AND IN THIS CASE, THE EXTERNAL CONDITIONS OF A HOUSE FIRE CAUSES THE HARDWOOD TO RELEASE ITS OXYGEN IN THE FORM OF HEAT AND LIGHT [FIRE], THEREBY CHANGING THE PROCESS FROM AGING TO BURNING.)

 – A MARXIST EDUCATION, WAYNE AU
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​USING THE HARDWOOD TABLE AS EXAMPLE, WAYNE AU’S METAPHOR OF DIALECTICS EMPHASIZES HIS POINT THAT “EVERY ‘THING’ IS DEVELOPING THROUGH THE UNFOLDING OF ITS OWN INTERNAL CONTRADICTIONS IN RELATION TO CONTEXTS AND CONDITIONS OUTSIDE OF THAT ‘THING’...”  

THOUGH WIDELY KNOWN AND COMPELLINGLY DESCRIBED BY MARXIST LITERATURE, DIALECTICS ARE ALSO REFERENCED IN PSYCHOLOGY TO DESCRIBE A VIEWPOINT OF INTERCONNECTEDNESS, THE CONSISTENCY AND INEVITABILITY OF CHANGE AND THE INHERENT CONTRADICTIONS IN EVERYTHING WE EXPERIENCE. ACROSS DISCIPLINES, WE CAN USUALLY APPLY DIALECTICS AS THE COEXISTENCE OF TWO (OR MANY) OPPOSING TRUTHS. 
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FRAMED BY THIS INTERDISCIPLINARY IDEA OF DIALECTICS, THE SMALL MOMENTS DEPICTED IN EACH PAINTING WITHIN THIS EXHIBITION FORM NON-LINEAR CONNECTIONS (CONTRADICTIONS) BETWEEN EACH OTHER. IN BRIGHT COLOR, OVERLAY AND TEXT, YOU CAN FIND DISILLUSIONMENT AND ENCHANTMENT; HARMONY AND DISSONANCE; BELONGING AND ESCAPE; LUST AND LONELINESS;;;

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EXHIBITION photos by jonathan furlong. ARTWORK PHOTOS BY ETHAN CHIEM.