15: LOIS


May 15th- June 12th, 1999  

Locust Projects is pleased to present "1st Annual Club Florida City Vacation Club Vacation" by Lois and "Tattoo Monologues" by Brandon Opalka.

Lois is a collaborative arts group from Halifax, Nova Scotia. The members will be creating a sight specific installation in the main gallery. The project revolves around the expectations and realities of vacationing. In their favorite Halifax bar appropriately named "Key Largo" Lois has been plotting the exhibition. Lois is responding to the fascination and anxiety of fulfilling dreams of long anticipated paradise. Their observations of Florida from seductive tourist
campaigns boast fantastic amusement parks and exotic/erotic beaches. However, these destinations are contrasted by the equally alluring elderly appeal similar to the "Golden Girls" leisure and the banality of retirement villages.
Lois is also working with the kitsch memorabilia and trinkets that symbolize the good times had on vacation. These items become trophy finds on the hunt for adventure and are valued even more so when given to friends back home as they imagine what they missed during the trip.

Brandon Opalka is a Miami based artist who will be directing a full sensory experience while sitting for a professional tattoo. Opalka is interested in blurring the lines between art and life. The voyeuristic nature of both body art and gallery going will be twisted into a new dimension of observation and self-evaluation. The public’s interaction will be a key roll in the outcome of the work.
Locust Projects is free and open to the public. Operating hours are Saturday from 1-5pm all other times call for an appointment.
Support from The Miami River Inn

Special thanks to The Miami River Inn