Colorforms is a solo project by Sasha Louis Bush. It is part of the collaborative series, Working Spaces. The site-specific installation was curated by Christine Callahan and Chaska Jurado. It was on view in Christine’s studio in Bayonne, New Jersey from April 12 – May 10, 2022. A limited edition zine was published to coincide with the exhibition.
More of Sasha’s work can be viewed at sashalouisbush.com
Original zine text written by Christine Callahan
Colorforms takes shape in the corner of my workspace. The installation has several parts: a grid of fifteen index cards, delicate paper boxes, a wall piece and custom magnets that invite the viewer to interact with the work.
The grid arrangement is displayed on my magnet board. It functions as Sasha’s personal calendar. Made during the early days of the pandemic, these dated notecards mark time. So much time, in fact, like the pandemic, it is continuous and drawn out. This presentation is an excerpt of the larger complete set which consists of 64 index cards. The cards display images of colorful magnets in various states of coming together and falling apart. This cycle plays out in temporary groupings which the artist configured, photographed and printed on grid index cards. A date is penciled on the top of each card. These read as daily records. It makes me wonder, how does an artist fill and mark their time?
Accompanying the grid are folded box sculptures. The boxes were repurposed from their manufactured intention and transformed into magical packages. Surprises await inside, colorful handmade constructions, taped and bunched together. On the wall hangs a two-part piece. The upper layer is an orange envelope, recycled from a darkroom paper sleeve. The bottom layer is a sheet of exposed, black darkroom paper that has been intricately sliced. Geometric shapes were removed to reveal white contours. This is reminiscent of my old childhood toy, Colorforms. I used to play with Colorforms by removing the vinyl characters. This created black shaped outlines which were just as engaging as the original vinyl shapes. As with the vintage Colorforms toy, Sasha’s Colorforms generates new forms from interacting with it. By playing with the custom magnets, the assemblage shifts to alternate narratives and takes on a life of its own.