"Abandoned Lot, Secluded Cove" Emily Budd

August at Available Space Art Projects (ASAP) proudly hosted "Abandoned Lot, Secluded Cove" an exhibition by artist Emily Budd that delves into the profound and intricate relationship between transformation, failure, and hope. Set against the backdrop of Lake Mead's declining water levels and the resulting young ruins, Budd's work explores themes of queer renewal and the emotional complexities of loving a "failed" place.

Emily Budd's exhibition began with her essay, "Cruising the Monuments of the Outskirts of Las Vegas," featured in the ecoartspace publication The New Geologic Epoch. In this essay, Budd reimagines Robert Smithson's seminal work A Tour of the Monuments of Passaic, New Jersey and explores the recent southwest water crisis and new ruins around Lake Mead. Her fascination with the site led her to document and interact with its landscape, collecting mementos and creating a series of sculptural works that reflect the transformation of the area.

"Abandoned Lot, Secluded Cove” is a continuation of Budd's exploration of Lake Mead, presenting an archive that captures the artist's emotional and physical connection to the area. The exhibition is a personal narrative that merges photographic and sculptural works to create a space that reflects both the history and potential futures of the site. Budd’s background in foundry craft and paleontology informs her work, allowing her to use casting techniques to create imagined queer fossils and monuments to lost histories.

The exhibition is not just a display of recent works but a statement on the impact of human actions on the environment. Budd’s refusal to further harm or disturb Lake Mead emphasizes a respect for the site and a recognition of the consequences of overexploitation. The artist's use of recycled materials and transformative processes highlights the potential for renewal and transformation even in the most discarded and abandoned places.

At its core, "Abandoned Lot, Secluded Cove" is a meditation on queer desire and futurity. Budd explores the concept of queer abandonment and the intuition to find love and renewal in ruin. The fictional archive she creates is a space where discarded portals lead to possibilities of queer futures, where the abandoned and failed can find new life and meaning.

The exhibition invited visitors to engage with the work and consider the complex relationships between place, identity, and transformation. Emily Budd’s thought-provoking pieces challenge viewers to reflect on their own connections to the environment and the possibility of finding hope and renewal in unexpected places.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this exhibition and experienced the depth and nuance of Emily Budd’s exploration of Lake Mead and the themes of failure, transformation, and queer renewal.