Re:Cycle-Bike Culture in Southern California
Reception: October 7, 6-10PM
Sweeney Art Gallery

I’m excited to be a part of the inaugural exhibit at the Sweeney Art Gallery. My installation includes a newspaper zine of Riverside-specific commentary and photography (see photo below); a video work from Burning Man 2010 titled Grit City; and a selection of medium format holga photos also shot at Burning Man. Using cycling as my primary mode of transportation, I mainly use lightweight toy plastic and lo-fi digital cameras to document and celebrate objects, people and places. The video work Grit City, filmed on a bike, presents the mystery and freewheeling sense of wonder in a bike-centric desert city oasis, including its dust storms, spontaneous parties, and mutant bike vehicles. The Untitled (Biketography) photograph selections display excerpts shot during rides around Grit City. Riverside Bicycle Monthly imagines a monthly alternative paper that includes photos primarily shot by cell phone camera in Riverside, CA that documents people, street installations and scenes found by cycling, as well as local bike tips and ride information.

Exploring the effects of bicycles on art and culture, Re:cycle-Bike Culture in Southern California includes artists and collectives that use the bicycle as both a metaphor and a realization for restructuring the urban environment. It is a reflection of a shifting value system that looks towards alternate means of transportation, the promotion of healthy lifestyles, and a cultural shift from consumption to sustainability. Organized by UCR Sweeney Art Gallery, and curated by Tyler Stallings, Artistic Director, Culver Center of the Arts & Director, Sweeney Art Gallery, Re:Cycle inaugurates Sweeney Art Gallery’s relocation in UCR’s new Barbara and Art Culver Centor of the Arts, both of which open to the public with a gala weekend from October 7 to 9, 2010.