Z-Space is the fourth iteration of Goodbye Tomorrow's notroious GRID series. For this entry, the GRID was used as the backdrop for a curated art show in collaboration with Expo Chicago.
Z-Space is the fourth iteration of Goodbye Tomorrow's notroious GRID series. For this entry, the GRID was used as the backdrop for a curated art show in collaboration with Expo Chicago.
Z-Space is the fourth edition of a continually expanding installation by art collective Goodbye Tomorrow. Z-Space incorporates lyrical double-entendre to inform the visual elements of a grid, while exploring installation art that creates congregative spaces that simultaneously exhbits other work within it. Goodbye Tomorrow draws on its background as a music label with the various interpretations of the term “depth” manifesting itself as a literal grid, physical reality differentiating 2D from 3D, and the idea of interpersonal interaction and fellowship. Past iterations of the grid have seen it used as a backdrop for fashion retail by providing a completely altered environment evoking shoppers to question their visual perception of reality and providing a more interactive shopping experience. Goodbye Tomorrow’s use of accessible building materials, repurposed to create an expansive and, at times, disorientng space, further pushed the questions and dialogue between viewers.
This latest iteration of Z-Space in partnership with EXPO Chicago saw the grid, for the first time, as a stand alone installation addressing Goodbye Tomorrow’s more conceptual motivations and focusing on their narrative concept embracing the idea of “community” and relocating commerce to the background.
The artists’ works featured within the installation, while being surprisingly cohesiveness visually, were curated by the partnering members of Goodbye Tomorrow and Congruent Space based on their relationships to the artists, and admiration of their works.
< head ass artist statement >
2 Preme -> don’t disappear (yet!)
There’s more work__
Since its inception goodbye tomorrow was not a music group or a multimedia art collective or anything else it’s been described as - but has been a practice of distancing from the illusion of SELF or individuality (we instead of i). U can’t stop until you have built the platform, the people will add the depth.
Its a grid. Get it? All 3 axis XYZ, the fundamental system of what reality is built on. Z don’t come for free, u gotta make it real. u can’t disappear before it’s real - create the system to cultivate depth (mind deep like a mine) mine’s explode outward, we can explode inward 2
4 Everyone - >
“goodbye tomorrow IS EVERYONE”, is always the phrase we use… The grid, on a surface level, is a physical embodiment of this idea! It’s a lot easier to understand physically than through music or visual art, right? XY is the “symbol” for GT bc it is all encompassing (x & y coordinates, xy chromosomes, etc, it even kind of sounds like “ask why”).
We called it “Z-space” bc in 3D rendering or measurement, the X and Y axes control left/right and up/down on the monitor. The Z axis, controls back and forward - the depth, in other words. The grid is “z-space,” in that whatever is inside of the space becomes that depth. Automatically becomes the focus of the conversation, whether our earlier iterations where it was more of a photo opportunity or a fashion brand on showcase, to this newest version with the focus more on the artwork itself. An art installation, itself, that is not quite complete until there are other artists or works within it. “Everyone.” The work, the creator, the observer, the identities and conversations amongst those identities start to converge. In one’s opinion, true art creates a conversation with one’s self more so than with the artist or object.
Making it by hand out of electric tape gives it a tangibility that vinyl graphics or paint would fail to convey, because the imperfections and temporality this method brings into the grid speaks highly to the “nowness“ and urgency to the physical space as compared to the works housed with it.
From a more meta-conceptual standpoint, viewed from outside the grid takes on more of a spatial design role, speaking to the building blocks we all see without seeing. Viewed from within, it takes on new meaning because it always extends beyond the possible field of vision, turning the observer into the observation, or the creator into the creation. Consciousness, conscious of itself. That’s what take human consciousness from concept to concrete from an idea to a planet and it’s acted out in micro-scale any type you
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via preme__XY (creative director 4 goodbye tomorrow)
“Of the Worldly” has been a long process of refining and perfecting the concept: a new idea of the flow and format of modern retail. New tradition, new trajectory *** *** Into the forest Into the sky ⚡︎ ≅ ⚡︎ 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡𝔩𝔶
OF THE WORLDLY is Congruent Space's newest idea - Brands from all over the world, curated within a series of narrative installations. The brands are not arranged according to name, hype, or price; but rather by how they fit into each respective environment within the world. Of the Worldly aims to restructure the way we interact with consumer products, refocusing the conversation around the underlying themes within the pieces themselves. Take a look at some detail shots from the install or check out a virtual walkthrough here. You can also find an artist statement at the bottom of the post.
A view into the "Of the Worldly" FIRST FOREST from Congruent Space's entryway. No trees were harmed in the creation of this installation.
THE CLOUD ROOM A place of boundless imagination and infinite possibility. "Copied" by a famous fashion brand, but CS has always been ahead of the curve. A lot went into this room, from custom designed and printed fabric, hand made clouds ti screen prints, epoxy resin and 4 other layers of materials on the floor,
OF THE WORLDLY hosts both emerging and established designers and brands from around the globe, recontextualizing them within a conceptual narrative installtion. Click below to view a list of brands on view.
THE LAST WORLD within "Of the Wordly." Crude materials and found parts make up the bulk of the installations, most prominently the Spirit Hut and a shop in shop made with pallets and acoustic foam. There are far too many details to highlight on camera - a must visit, in person experience.
Artist statements are generally really dumb. It mean what it mean to whoever it mean it to buuuuuut since ppl like that kind of stuff I wrote one but if you truly truly appreciate that kind of thinking pls read this AFTER you investigate and explore the space, at least digitally, for yourself.
< head ass artist statement >
“Into the forest. Into the sky. After we die, only our things remain.” Congruent’s newest setup started with that simple mantra, examining the relationship between products and people. A major component of Congurent’s mission is a continual effort to amplify the voices of emerging artists and designers, re-centering the conversation around the narratives and meanings underpinning their work, as opposed to a purely commercial viewpoint. This approach relies heavily on installations and mixed media visuals to thematically support these creatives, whether to drive home the underlying meaning of a collection or to add new layers to an existing aesthetic.
With this concept, we really wanted to lock in on our mission itself, and I was really interested in the relationship we, as consumers, have with physical products. We spend so much time positioning ourselves within and around these things and they begin to become us. We tear down trees to make room for factories, and we rip up fields to make new clothes. We lust after, obsess over them, but in the end, they will always end up forgotten. We can’t take them with us, so what are they for? Is it because of what they ARE or what they MEAN? And if it’s because of what they mean, what do they mean?
The answer to that is infinite. It’s different for everyone, and so really the whole thing started with the sky. Boundless possibilities. The emptiness and stillness of a calm sky sparked the whole concept. We come from nothing. We find the forest. We destroy it to enhance our selves. What we built for our selves out lasts us. We leave. The cycle repeats. Where do clothes it in that model? I’m not gonna lie, the intersection of art and commerce has always been an uneasy space for me to occupy. Our world has a way of pushing us down, convincing us to think we have to follow one road, one mode, one way, but if anything can come from this installation - I would hope that we could see past the brands and clothes and pieces - for these are merely a watering hole in the Sahara - a point that we can gather around - but the REASON we put them inside congruent space is to shift our collective conversation back towards our SELF and less toward an outside voice advertising who or what our self is.
I’m gonna stop talking now, but leave you with a quote I read in a book about Egypt (The Opening of the Way) right after we finished the bulk of the installation. Imagine how crazy I went when I read this (damn near at the end of the book. I damn near broke my iPad.
“Do not deceive yourself. You can remain in the world, but until you irretrievably break the bonds of the worldly, you will never achieve your goal.”
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via preme__XY (creative director)