Nasher Public Presents Its First New Media Installation

For the newest Nasher Public Exhibition, Dallas artist and Pussy Riot (Russian protest punk rock and performance art group) collaborator Melanie Clemmons has created the Dallas Arts District museum’s very first new media installation. “Likes Charge, Light Tear” is a four piece exhibit that “reimagines technology via metaphysical or spiritual concepts and imagery.”

Each of the four works approaches the idea of the Internet and online platforms as a form of healing, rather than the negative effects that are so often discussed. Melanie Clemmons’ first piece, “Magic Circle,” presents four flatscreen televisions on the walls which present the four elements — earth, air, fire, and water. These videos use the four elements “as they appear in magical or spiritual traditions to focus energy.”

In the middle of the gallery, “Reflect” is an interactive video sculpture that looks like a reflection pool — for thought and meditation. It’s surrounded by glass bricks and serves as a space to take a break and “an alternative to the pressures of conventional online existence.”

Don’t mind “The Eye,” a rotating computer and webcam at the entrance of the gallery. It provides a 24-hour livestream of the exhibit space for virtual visitors to explore. You can access the video on Clemmons’ Twitch stream.

Lastly, “Recharge” is located on the furthest end of the room. It’s a rotating disc with smartphones and 3D-printed healing crystals. The phones refer to “click farms,” which are “banks of phones that are illicitly to provide, at a price, false likes and followers for social media accounts and websites.” Instead, Melanie Clemmons’ phones use video and crystals to promote “the healing of digital ills.”

“Likes Charge, Light Tear” is on display at The Nasher Sculpture Center now through April 25.

To learn more about the Nasher Public initiative, visit nashersculpturecenter.org.