Disjecta Hosts
Out of Place
An exhibition by nowhere arts collective

Feb. 28th - March 28th
Opening Saturday, February 28th 6-10 pm
Gallery Hours: Fri-Sun 12-5 pm

Read the OregonLive review

‘Out of Place’ is an exhibition of work created during Nowhere’s residency at the Center for Land Use Interpretation in the summer of 2008. The CLUI facility is located on the Nevada/Utah border in the small town of Wendover. Nowhere traveled extensively in this arid region, “gradually understanding that the desert is not empty, but full of life and rich with history.” In Out of Place, they bring these observations to Disjecta’s main exhibition space and explore the fact and folklore of the American West.

The exhibition will include: Matt McCalmont modified a small motorcycle, making it possible to take a solo journey and record the rough surfaces of his travels. Brennan Conaway produced the film ‘Trajectory’ that documents a ‘weapons test’ in the desert, where he fired a bullet at the distant horizon and then went searching for it. Charissa Niles discovered an abandoned railway and is ‘reclaiming’ the tracks to convey hand-built vehicles that don’t require fossil fuels.

“We observed the deserted places and abandoned things that were left behind, revealing some of the hidden aspects and forgotten stories of the American West. Our experiences in the desert compelled us to create works that we could not produce anywhere else.”

‘Out of Place’ looks at the iconic inventions of the last century and how they impacted the American West. Railroads, rifles, Westerns, cars and bombs — in many ways, these objects created the West. Nowhere presents this façade and a deeper investigation of our Western heritage in their intriguing new body of work.

Founded in 2005, nowhere is an art collective based in Portland, Oregon. The nowhere team—Matt McCalmont, Brennan Conaway and Charissa Niles—has evolved and transformed as they take on new projects. In 2008, nowhere was accepted to the artist in residency program at The Center For Land Use Interpretation, a two year residency based in the high desert of Utah.