The third installment of Exhibit Columbus 2021 has kicked off, with 13 Indiana installations designed by architects and creative practices on display to the public until November 2021.
Architects have explored the history of Columbus in works that interlink the cultural, political and historical references of the city, both nodding to the past and speculating on solutions for the future. The installations play on Columbus’ modernist architecture, responding to co-creators Iker Gil and Mimi Zeiger’s question; ‘New Middles: From Main Street To Megalopolis, What Is The Future of The Middle City?’
The question is considered from a multitude of standpoints. J Irwin and Xenia S Miller prize recipients Dream the Combine, Ecosistema Urbano, Future Firm, Olalekan Jeyifous, and Sam Jacob Studio scrutinise the city’s occupants and events – past, present and future – in their work. Whether exploring the impact Christopher Columbus had on the city, rethinking the physicality of teaching post-pandemic or viewing Columbus through a nocturnal filter, space is reconfigured and rethought. Other pieces examine the role African art has played in the city’s identity or intertwine works with a playful fictionality, viewing the space as an alternative reality.
Alternative Instruments, Sam Jacob Studio, 2021, Columbus, Indiana. Site: Washington Street. Image credit: Hadley Fruits
Calibrate, Natalie Yates, 2021, Columbus, Indiana. University affiliation: Ball State University. Site: Franklin Square. Image credit: Hadley Fruits.
It is geography that attracts other architects, with Derek Hoeferlin tracing the Mississippi River, and High School Design Team considering how the river shapes the architecture of Columbus, while Ersela Kripa and Stephen Mueller look to the skies in a study of the flight paths. The appearance of the city as a whole is mulled over by Lola Sheppard and Mason White, while Joyce Hwang considers the impact of wildlife.
Jei Jeeyea Kim draws our attention to what is missing from the landscape, acknowledging the silenced voices of the past; others look to external movements, with Ang Li considering the impact of late modernism on the city and Natalie Yates revealing patterns and rhythms through a stringent analysis of environment data.
Cloudroom, Ecosistema Urbano, 2021, Columbus, Indiana. Site: Central Middle School. Image credit: Hadley Fruits.
To Middle Species, With Love, Joyce Hwang, 2021, Columbus, Indiana. University affiliation: University at Buffalo. Site: Mill Race Park. Image credit: Hadley Fruits.
Midnight Palace, Future Firm 2021, Columbus, Indiana. Site: Sears Building Plaza. Image credit: Hadley Fruits.
Tracing Our Mississippi, Derek Hoeferlin 2021, Columbus, Indiana. University affiliation: Washington University St. Louis. Site: The Pump House. Image credit: Hadley Fruits.
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