10:45am | Impossible Moon is the creative team being featured this Saturday from 7 to 9:30 PM at the opening reception of Dream Spaces at The Collaborative gallery. Located at 421 West Broadway, The Collaborative’s exhibitions alternates between curatorial teams at the Museum of Latin American Art and, in this case, the Arts Council for Long Beach.
Impossible Moon is Christine Nguyen and Michael Wysong. Both are musicians and visual artists, and do not limit themselves to specific media. Their work is often designed to gently invite participation, and to reveal connections we all share.
I asked Christine about the installation.
“There are two main pieces we wanted to get made,” said Christine. “One was this glowing moon sculpture, and the other a loom with instruments inspired by an early 18th century etching of a loom. The instrumentation is of course, our add on.
“Originally, we had wanted to have the moon made earlier so we could place it in different locations in Long Beach, and document the event in the day and at night. But, we underestimated the time it would take to fabricate it. The ‘loom’ piece is on schedule, and we’re pretty happy with it. I had a very good friend of mine, Andre Woodward, to help construct it.”
I asked her how the moon was made.
“I had to get a ‘duratrans’ made,” she explained, “which is a film that is used usually at bus stops for back-lighting an image. The duratrans of the moon is about 48” wide. The fabricators, Finishing Concepts, made a metal frame, a light box with a wooden base. It’s a simple but large sculpture. The wooden base is shaped like a pyramid, with the moon light box sitting on top.
“Usually, I make things myself. But, realize I can’t make everything and have limited knowledge and facilities to make certain things. Michael and I have learned a bit working on this exhibition, and looking forward to working on future projects together.”
I asked her about the looms.
“The loom piece,” Christine said, “which we haven’t quite decided on the title of yet, does have two navajo looms facing each other on a platform. The sides of the loom have guitar strings which people are invited to play with. There are instruments throughout the piece. We cut conduit to make a xylophone looking thing that is placed on the sides. You’ll also find percussion instruments hanging, such as tambourines, triangles, and shakers. Mobiles are also hung from beams above.
“We see the loom representing the weaving of time and how all things are connected to form one entity. The instrumentation is a ritual meditative element that is somehow maybe calling up some sort of spirit… something magic. I think it’s a personal narrative Michael and I conjured up. Making up stories of what could happen if you activate this loom piece, and interacting with the moon sculpture.
“There’s definitely a sense of play in our works,” continued Christine, “and I think we are tying in our interests in visual arts and music. I often think, as we get older, we sometimes loose that sense of play. That imaginative quality one would have as a kid, and I think our work sort of speaks about that as well as other things.
“It’s really about bringing back the fun into our busy daily lives. I’m not saying people don’t have fun. I just think people need to have more of it through creative processes. For me, personally, it keeps me sane. Also, there’s this process of being self-reflective, of recalling our roots.”
“I was looking at old photographs,” she recalled, “and found things I had as a child, and realized that I’m kind of the same person. My interests in nature and such. It’s pretty weird to know something that is rooted in ourselves, and yet we try to discover ourselves, when it was there in the first place.”
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For more information about this and other exhibitions at The Collaborative, visit ArtsLB.org.
To learn more about Impossible Moon, visit ImpossibleMoon.com
Learn about Christine’s Sea Moon projects at SeaMoonShe.tumblr.com.
Parking inside the attached structure is free with validation, which is available in the Gallery.