#maintenanceofway

Loram Rail Grinder

On my way to work, the barriers dropped, but there was no train due. Immediately this monster came into view—a Loram rail grinder. I jumped from my car and made some captures with my phone.

As I understand it, grinding the rails extends its life. It would be good to see this show happen in the dusk so the fire and sparks would be more visible. I’ve not looked long, but I’ve not found who makes this equipment—which seems positively medieval. I noticed the units on the either end ride on classic Blomberg trucks.

We’re on Amtrak’s own line, just west of Kalamazoo. This is the former Michigan Central line between Detroit and Porter, Indiana, with Chicago its goal of course.

Hannah Barnes & Gyun Hur: Maintenance of Way September 17 - October 30, 2021 Opening Reception: Friday, September 17th, 5 - 8 PM Redux Contemporary Art Center | Charleston, SC

Maintenance of Way, a Tiger Strikes Asteroid Greenville (TSA GVL) exhibition that brings together the work of Hannah Barnes and Gyun Hur will open at the Redux Contemporary Art Center in Charleston, SC on Friday, September 17th with an opening reception from 5 - 8 PM. The show, which was organized by TSA GVL Co-director Susan Klein, will run until October 30th. Masks are required for all visitors.

Barnes and Hur create work that considers place as a mental and physical construct built by layers of time, a collection of striations. The exhibition takes its title from the phrase that means “the upkeep and repair of a railroad track”. Upkeep and repair, maintaining one’s way, is a process of labor and care. These artists position care at the forefront of their practices. They explore the internal work it takes to notice, remember, and hold close the corporeal and the intangible.    

Barnes and Hur explore the idea of maintenance in their practices as a physical and emotional  pursuit, connected both to one’s private self and a broader public society. For Barnes, this manifests in a contemplative practice that exists as an antidote to reactionary modes of  existence. Her practice is a model for a quiet maintenance of way, an argument for steady and  intense labor and thoughtful reflection on the past and present. Hur seeks to forge vulnerability, labor, and memory through form. The artist’s installations and performances unravel temporary sites for remembrance through process. Hand shredded silk flowers speak to the invisible labor of dwelling in nostalgic melancholia as a meditation on the passage of time.

MAINTENANCE OF WAY is an exhibition that elucidates the tether between palpable touch and conceptual thought. Through the ritualistic act of making, Barnes and Gur cut and mend, cover and reveal, allowing for the layering of content and meaning. These artists have a spirit of generosity in their work, holding space for the ungraspable. Their work invites the viewer to share in the collective experience of being private selves in public spaces.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Friday 11 AM - 4 PM | Masks are required for visitors Redux Contemporary Art Center, 1056 King Street, Charleston, SC 29403