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BAIK+KHNEYSSER is pleased to present Domestic Ritual, a group exhibition at The Little City Farm LA, April 17-25, 2021.

“We can define rituals as symbolic techniques of making oneself at home in the world. They transform being-in-the-world into a being at home. They turn the world into a reliable place. They are to time what a home is to space: they render time habitable. They even make it accessible, like a house.” -Byung Chul Han, The Disappearance of Ritual: A Topology of the Present

Performing a ritual helps us reconnect with ourselves, our surroundings, and with one another. More importantly, rituals are a way of instilling meaning amidst the chaos of contemporary life. Against the backdrop of the countless challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has brought on, Domestic Ritual invites the viewer to reflect on their personal relationship with rituals.

Each artist we have selected for the exhibition has long relied on ritual and intentionality as part of their studio practice. While we often ascribe ritual to a transcendent, numinous reality, it is also described as an expression of custom, tradition, or a daily routine. By showcasing this selection of works, we propose that rituals work to enhance social cohesion, even in the absence of communal life.

Kadar Brock's paintings involve adding layers and layers of paint, which he then sands down to a worn, exposed minimum. Jinju Lee’s deliberately chosen natural pigment of layers and layers of paint on paintings focus on the residue of negative events and emotions which constantly resurface in everyday life. Naruse Ryo paints spaces where he imagines consciousness floating in the image, and although it exists, it cannot view itself or be viewed by us. Mella Jaarsma is inspired by ancestral and symbolic sculptors to make works like archetypes, questioning who is eating who/what and who is feeding who/what. Nancy Kwon’s ceramic sculptures are inspired by historical objects to create works that are relevant to everyone where the thoughts and feelings expressed are intelligible and comprehensible. Tofer Chin regularly collects wasted objects and discarded building materials such as concrete, wood, and metal to create sculptural works. Elana Mann creates public artworks designed to activate ears and voices in various communities that greatly need spaces of listening.

Little City Farm LA is a small scale urban farm located in the Arlington Heights neighborhood on what was once a tennis court. It’s a collaboration of innovative thinkers in the fields of farming, Jenny Silbert (reformed architect, Rewilder Goods), Ben Hirshfeld (3R Garden Designfounder and farmer), and Chef David Kuo (Little Fatty