Object Permanence

"Object Permanence", a concept from the field of developmental psychology that involves the understanding that objects continue to exist even when you can't see or hear them; “Object" from a philosophical standpoint, as a thing being observed / felt / experienced vs "subject" as the one observing / feeling / experiencing. I'm extending this concept of object permanence into the spirit realm, to include ancestors, guides, etc and the invisible forces that move through and around us. Spiritual as in an understanding of our oneness with the universe.

It feels poignant and relevant as the images encased in the plexiglass are of exterior home altars found around my old neighborhood in Eastlake. Altars are material portals to a world beyond our own - unseeable, unknowable, untouchable. Altars remind us of the presence of this otherworld and the spirits that inhabit it, instilling a sense of object permanence through the rituals we perform with and through them. 

The imagery of peeled fruit functions in two ways for me: carefully washed, peeled, and cut up fruit was often used by my immigrant parents as an apology / peace offering in place of an actual conversation around whatever went down. The altars I've been observing and as such the altars I've created for myself always involve some kind of fruit, often citrus, offering.  The frames themselves, I hope, act as portals and straddle the material realm and that of spirit. The watercolors on fabric and the way they are installed will, ideally, convey a sense of melancholy, and behave as stand ins for the disjointed memories from my childhood that have spurred me to search for god in the every day. 

Opening Reception Sept 2, 2022 6-9 PM

by Tracy Ren.

Tracy Ren is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and curator based in Oakland, CA. They work primarily with an architectural and object-oriented visual language while moving through the world as an intuitive, process-oriented, queer, second-generation, Chinese-American person.

Drawing inspiration from cultural / domestic symbols, rituals, spaces, and things, they make sculptures, photographs, installations, and craft objects with the intent to highlight the ways in which we simultaneously and reciprocally create, activate, and are held by one another both within and across space and time.

As a whole, their creative pursuits serve as a personal compass within the continued processes of physical, spiritual, historical, political, and subconscious wayfinding. It is a means through which they can celebrate and uplift the members of their community who have been made to feel unsafe, overlooked or underestimated, and an opportunity to playfully pursue the creation and consumption of knowledge and beauty.