About the exhibition:

The body’s relationship to its surroundings is precarious. The works included in this exhibition represent lesser-known aspects of the artists’ practices in iterative works which move across installation, performance, and video. Considering presence, they recall the ways that place can echo throughout history.

In Zarouhie Abdalian’s outdoor sound installation, titled Chanson du ricochet (2014–22), a recorded voice reads from a list of “tools of construction” that reference labor histories of the built environment. The recording emanates from a building in the center of CCA’s Oakland campus during its last semester of active use as an art college. And on the walls of the gallery at the Wattis, an accompanying handwritten text work called Chanson (2018–22) transcribes the spoken words. Also on view at the Wattis is Miguel Arzabe’s video series Trajectories (2015–21), in which iridescent bubbles float through coastal and mountainous landscapes, with the artist’s camera movement tracking the fluid subjects. Evoking a poetic understanding of space, this five-part video series suggests the vulnerable connections between people and the environment. Photo and video documentation from Natani Notah’s ongoing walking performance series #TsiiyéełPowered (2017–present) is coupled with a sculptural installation. Three white fabric tsiiyéeł, versions of traditional Navajo hairpieces elongated so they drag on the ground when Notah wears them, are embedded with debris collected as the artist traversed landscapes including Pier 41 on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco and the shoreline of Pescadero State Beach in San Mateo. Brought together, these works bring attention to the dynamics of place that are often unseen.

Outdoor sound installation on CCA's Oakland campus: March 10–May 14, 2022. Every day, 12-6pm. After entering the CCA Oakland campus, visitors are required to check-in at the Oliver Art Center, located by the A2 Cafe where the work is installed.

Resonance of Place is curated by the Graduate Program in Curatorial Practice, Class of 2022: Selam Bekele, Lauren Sorresso, and Yu Jin Sung.

Image credit: Natani Notah, #TsiiyéełPowered, 2017–ongoing. Still from video documentation of walking performances (color, sound), 30 min. Courtesy of the artist.