a thing of this world

Ryder Richards [solo exhibition]
Martha Fenestermaker Memorial Visual Arts Gallery, Laredo Community College
Laredo, Texas
January 21- February 25, 2016

a thing of this world, Ryder Richards’ installation has evolved from researching civil power conflicts, primarily focusing on the relationship between police and citizens. Influenced by power/knowledge theory, the work uses the aesthetics of conflict while considering academic knowledge as a distancing mechanism from reality. The artist’s stark, detailed drawings, which depict a range of imagery from shielded police, plumes of smoke, to excerpts from theoretical text, frames a sense of civil escalation among police/citizen relations. Relative to the works on paper, Richards’ sculptural objects and paintings allude to conflations in the symbolic means-to power in the form of a Kevlar® hoodie, DIY riot shields,  and failed monuments.

Richards lectured at the opening reception on his research into power, force, and the aesthetic manifestation of power and fear.

DIY Trying: Gasmasks

In conjunction with the exhibition Richards conducted a workshop, “DIY Trying: Gasmasks,” in which he taught 20 students how to create their own riot gasmasks from soda bottles and build filters with activated charcoal and soda lime.

Many, many thanks to Alvaro Perez for hosting me.