The Art of the Mooch

By RACHEL ELIZABETH JONES @RATBABYJONES

Parasitic forces make humans anxious — for proof, we need only look at the enduring mythos of vampires who sleep in coffins, skulk in the dark and drain unsuspecting passersby of their life juice. “HUSK,” a newly opened group show at Burlington’s S.P.A.C.E. Gallery, mines the narratively rich material of the parasite for results that, at least sometimes, land as social commentary. “Where do we get the energy we need to sustain ourselves?” asks the curatorial text. “Are those sources sustainable or part of a system that ultimately depletes us?”

With these open-ended questions a-swirling, the gallery has assembled a motley exhibition of works by Janine Fleri, Martha Hull, Jenn LeBlanc, Athena Kafantaris, Lynne Reed, Beth Robinson, Annika Rundberg, Alex Swaisgood and Sarah Vogelsang. The show comes just in time for Valentine’s Day, that extra-special collusion of consumerism and romance.

Among the most pointed and fresh — and intentionally silly — works is Fleri’s participatory “Suck Us Dry.” The artist has amended kids’ classic Capri Sun juice pouches with labels featuring five graphic portraits of artists participating in the show, and gallery visitors are welcome to drink these beverages. Among the “flavors” is Robinson’s Bolo Punch, a “fiery blend of natural swamp water, diesel & shattered glass flavors!” The homemade label features a black-clad Robinson, middle finger raised. Or perhaps Hull’s Strawberry Milkshake, “with just a splash of cyanide,” is more to taste.

“Suck Us Dry” is certainly cute, but it also takes an important jab at notions of artist-viewer reciprocity. Unless they happen to be buying, gallerygoers are in many senses parasites, enjoying and criticizing the oft-intensive labors of art producers. Seen from this angle, the art world is a host riddled with leeches hiding in plain sight. In lieu of a dollar amount, the exhibition price list for “Suck Us Dry” reads simply “for consumption.” If the show packs a definitive punch, it’s here.

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Robinson also crafted the “#MeToo Sculpted Bust,” as a complement to and display for Rundberg’s “#MeToo Necklace.” Rundberg’s large circular pendant is crafted from bull scrotum and tiny mother-of-pearl beads. Is the scrotum meant as a trophy symbolic of female domination? It’s hard to tell, but Rundberg writes, “If I could coat things with mother-of-pearl and make it obsolete, I would make my pearl over the toxic male ego.”

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