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    The Brink: Jason Hirata

     
    Upper Level Galleries
    March 26, 2016 — June 26, 2016
    Jason Hirata (U.S., born 1986), the 2015 Brink Award recipient, presents a solo exhibition of sculpture and drawing—and an associated publication—exploring dynamics of the corporate state and food industry that shape contemporary life. The Brink is a biennial prize awarded to emerging artists, age 35 and under, working in the Cascadia region: Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.
    Hirata takes inspiration from two provocative works as his starting point: Francisco de Goya's early nineteenth-century print from The Disasters of War series that pictures a famine-stricken group eating a porridge of grass pea (a resilient crop that can cause paralysis when consumed with regularity), and a 1981 speech by Jack Welch, the then newly appointed CEO of General Electric who popularized a business model aimed at maximizing shareholder value. For Hirata, bringing together these references—distanced by over a century—creates a dialogue about the current stratification of society, and individual, human survival amidst growing commercial interests of wealth accumulation. In one gallery are Hirata’s oil pastel drawings recreating Goya’s scene of desperation, and an industrial light fixture that partially illuminates the room, inviting questions about what power structures make visible and what they hide. Another gallery installed with box fans, air filters, and word drawings referred to as “restaurant specials”—Chicken Tikka Masala Pizza and Plumpy’Nut, for example—Hirata makes palpable the forces of our globalized economy and networked society. Plumpy’Nut,  a therapeutic food used to combat malnutrition in famine and disaster stricken areas, is manufactured by a French company that strictly defends its patent and restricts the licensing of this life-saving remedy, even though it is unable to meet demand—limiting access to potential beneficiaries. Hirata's associated publication, Fodder, can be viewed here.
    Hirata holds a BFA in photography from the University of Washington and lives and works in Seattle and New York. Hirata is the fourth artist to receive The Brink Award. To learn more, visit About The Brink.
    CREDITS

    The Brink: Jason Hirata is made possible by the generosity of John and Shari Behnke, Henry patrons and founders of the Brink Award. This exhibition is organized by Nina Bozicnik, Assistant Curator.

    Related Programs

    <p>Jason Hirata.&nbsp;<i>Goya Pl. 51, 160110-01</i>. 2016.&nbsp;Digital photograph. Image courtesy of the artist</p>
    Talks & Performances

    Patron Preview: The Brink: Jason Hirata

    March 24, 2016
    Talks & Performances

    Artist Talk: Jason Hirata

    April 9, 2016