DEAD RURAL
A Solo Exhibition of Work by Rebecca Riess at 303 Projects 2023
Debris falls behind the making and the material. What was once a train journey morphed into a painting and now it’s 3 dimensional/sculptural…
Transient timelines twist on the worst public transport at the fringe of industry. Holes in the road, sewage in my river, agricultural runoff.
Overproduced and underdeveloped - soil too wet, soil too dry.
Dipsticks are infectants, specimens and animal life. The muntjac’s are becoming a problem.
Dogworld and those plastic bags, dirty dirty dirt, this shits free. Stick forks in meat, yes easy meat.
Poison at the weir, 18 dead swans, that greasy pool.
Overflow, bad lung, residue.
I am stationary, embedded, I am a full stop. Smoke. Live wood, dead wood, burnt wood.
Making lists are part of Riess’s process, you have just read one. Although fictional, this this new body of work incorporates Riess’s direct experience and interpretation of how her life relates to location, politics and the environment. Her use of materials has psychological weight which she interprets through her own personal narrative. For this exhibition she has sewn, woven, painted, drawn, pinned, glued, collected and preserved materials which engage with her notion of Dead Rural.