A toxin threatens, but it also beckons, agustine zegers

Verbal Description

agustine zegers

A toxin threatens, but it also beckons

In the banality of the quotidian, a coeval temporality emerges: geologic time collapsed as crude petroleum. Ancientness dissolves as a polymer, invading the porosity of our somas with the plasticity of petrocapital. Support for A toxin threatens but it also beckons is provided by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the School of Art & Art History, the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts, and the University of Illinois Chicago.

Inter.densidad, 2025

Paraffin, deconstructed plastic

Poli.etilena, 2025

Styrene copolymer, petroleum solvent, high-density polyethylene fragments, low-density polyethylene fragments, polypropylene fragments

The small gallery space is rather simple overall. Artworks are arranged on two walls and in the windows that face east. There is not a lot of text, and the works that are visible are predominantly in the same white or taupe colors of the walls and floors.

A long straight line of small circular bottle caps are fixed to two walls at seated height. This work titled Inter.densidad is from 2025. Its materials are bottle caps, found plastic components, and concentrated fragrance. The plastics of the bottlecaps vary in transparencies, some are completely clear, some completely white. Inside the bottle caps are pools of solidified, waxy, white and taupe scent components. The odor they emit has notes of hot, burnt plastic, inflatable toys, and cheap cleaning products. This artificial smell of deconstructed plastic lingers in the gallery, and becomes more pungent the closer you get to the bottle caps on either wall.

Organically scattered across the large window to the right of the bottle cap walls are nine waxy, opaque puddles, most slightly larger than palm sized. This work titled Poli.etilena is also from 2025. The window takes up almost the entirety of one wall, and these puddles are placed asymmetrically, horizontally and vertically, all throughout it. As light comes in from outside, the soft silicone-like forms are illuminated and bits of microplastics are revealed floating within. The microplastics vary in color, with white and blue pieces speckled throughout.

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