Shana Moulton
Shana Moulton creates unexpected relationships between commercial and spiritual worlds in her colorful, surreal videos. Starring the artist and staged in artificial domestic sets, these works feature the protagonist in uncomfortable or anxious situations like having a stomach ache or being locked in a room. Consumer goods, advertising, and pop cultural artifacts such as book lights, ergonomic keyboards, prescription drug commercials, ASMR YouTube videos, and Enya songs become curious tools for attempting to solve her problems. Blending these elements, the protagonist has bizarre, even magical experiences: Activia® yogurt brings about internal spiritual awakening; a secretary desk provides the mystical “third” eye; a Swiss Healing Rock Powder cures restless legs by multiplying them and making them dance. Although humorous and whimsical, these uncanny videos question whether the “wellness” industry, with its many products and strategies, ever really provides well-being.
Screening Schedule:
- May 27 – June 26: MindPlace ThoughtStream, 2014 Single-channel video 11:57
- June 28 – July 24: The Undiscovered Drawer, 2013 Single-channel video 9:19
- July 26 – August 28: Restless Leg Saga, 2012 Single-channel video 7:24
Shana Moulton (b. 1976, Oakhurst, CA) lives and works in New York. She earned a BFA from University of California, Berkeley (1999), an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University (2004) and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2004) and De Ateliers, Amsterdam (2006). Her work has been featured in solo exhibitions at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2016), Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco (2015), The Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus (2010), and Art in General, New York (2009), and in group exhibitions at The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2014), ICA London (2012), Guangdong Times Museum, Guangzhou, China (2011), P.S.1, New York (2010), and Oakville Galleries, Toronto (2010), among many others. She has performed at the New Museum, New York (2011); The Kitchen, New York (2010); Exit Art, New York (2010); Performa 09, New York (2009); Diverseworks, Houston (2008); Electronic Arts Intermix, New York (2007); and De Appel, Amsterdam (2006). She has been an artist-in-resident at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (2011) and Harvestworks, New York (2008), and has received grants and fellowships from Harvestworks (2010), The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (2009), and the Experimental Television Center (2009).