...reminded of water flowing and peace, while the gentle pastel pallet of colors brightens the dark space around her...
The Contemporary Art Modern Project is excited to announce a solo exhibition exploring outer space by contemporary fiber artist Katika: Outer Limits.
As technology has advanced over the years, we’ve discovered more and more about the world beyond our home planet: Magnetic fields, cosmic rays and even simple low density-particles are what make up the space beyond Earth. Space exploration has lingered in Katika’s mind for years, emerging as her most recent series, Outer limits and is the artist's own understanding of space as it relates to femininity through fiber material. A figurative piece in this series titled 7RDS instantly guided this understanding. One can only find themselves weightless when floating above water. This vision of a woman looks effortlessly ethereal. The viewer is reminded of water flowing and peace, while the gentle pastel pallet of colors brightens the dark space around her as feminine energy so naturally can.
A life-long anime fan, Katika grew up watching the iconic series, “Sailor Moon.” The character of Sailor Moon meets a talking cat who helps her discover her magical alter ego, embarking missions to find the moon princesses and fight the forces of the Dark Kingdom. The anime is one of the first to set an example of a young girl being represented as the superhero. “Prominence of space-themed imagery and the girls’ intimate connection with the greater world left a huge impact on my imagination. Space and femininity have been closely linked in my consciousness ever since.” the artist says. This would eventually manifest as an eight-foot-tall Sailor Moon tribute piece featured in Outer Limits.
It is also through language that she arrives at many of her creative projects, as seen in her current online exhibition as it is specific space terminology that led her mind to roam into the fertile lands for creation. Something Katika noticed within language is the femininity in words when speaking of outer space and earth, as many are grammatically female; a realization that affirms what is special to her because it means the world around us is feminine on some level. Evidence of this is seen in: Univers, whichpresents a woman ruling over the celestial bodies: She is the product of the suns, moons and stars consolidating together. Katika guides us to imagine the power of a strong feminine essence and powerful universal entities becoming one. An image we should all hold closer as we walk through society today in what is often a male dominated world – she suggests that we are actually surrounded by feminine energies to be used as both a strength and a balancing tool.