Primary is proud to present Junglebar, a solo exhibition of new textiles by Queens-based artist Oona Brangam-Snell. In this series of embroidered jacquards, Brangam-Snell explores untamed and uncontrollable nature and isolation from civilization, along with the emotions that evoke threat, confusion, and powerlessness.
Post-colonial critics often explore how the term "jungle" symbolizes hierarchical power dynamics and the pressure from Western cultures for others to conform to their notions of civilization. In this presentation of jacquard-woven and hand-embroidered canvases, you'll find classical symbols borrowed from heraldry and mythology, often fragmented, wandering across the canvas. Brangam-Snell encourages the viewer to question the significance of these familiar symbols and their implicit connections to them.
With her tapestries, Brangam-Snell blends allegorical symbolism with contemporary iconography. Her dreamlike and often humorous compositions play with ideas like repetition, replication, and the mechanical aspects of the hand-drawn. Aided by her understanding of woven construction, Brangam-Snell's work employs a broad mix of textures, complex half-tones, and vivid blocks of color, disrupted by loose hand-stitching, dense machine embroidery, layered quilting, and appliquéd buttons and patches.
In Junglebar, Brangam-Snell explores mysterious and ritualistic themes, along with the unpredictable nature of the divine. Her work encourages us to embrace the sense of wonder when we glimpse behind the curtain, beyond our everyday understanding of reality. Pieces like Manse, Babel, and Psyche use creative forced perspectives to make depicted spaces feel free-associative, dreamy, and underground. In more modest compositions like Pompeii, Hera, Vortex, and Ungit, Brangam-Snell toys with the conventions of textile design by drawing attention to their repetitive structure while simultaneously disrupting their rhythm.
Through her departure from conventional composition norms, Brangam-Snell encourages us to rethink how we perceive these artworks and invites us to reassess the significance of illusion and imagery. Her intricately detailed compositions, akin to a dense and intricate thicket, gently compel us to explore further, encouraging a thoughtful and deliberate journey.
Opens Saturday, October 14, 2023 at 5 PM
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About the Artist:
Oona Brangam-Snell (b. 1989, New York City, NY) is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and works as a Senior Designer for the textile firm Maharam. Recent exhibitions include Arsenal Contemporary, Charles Moffett, Candice Madey, Hashimoto Contemporary New York, NY; Primary., Miami, FL. Her work has been featured in Artforum, Artnet News, Architectural Digest Design, Hyperallergic, and T Magazine. Brangam-Snell’s work is included in the collection of Fidelity Investments, Boston, MA and The Bunker, Palm Beach, FL. Her first solo exhibition at Mrs. was held in January 2021. Brangam-Snell’s work has also been presented by Mrs. in a solo booth at NADA Miami in November 2021 and in group exhibitions at Felix Art Fair Los Angeles and Kiaf, Seoul in 2023.
Primary. (Est. in 2007) is a context & research-driven curatorial collective with a focus on public arts. Located in Little River, Miami, our private residence explores modern ideas on the subject of live/work, connecting new voices in contemporary art with growing audiences & collections.
For further information, please contact info@thisisprimary.com
