Tiger Strikes Asteroid Greenville (TSA GVL) is pleased to present Residence Time, a solo exhibition of works by artist Kelley O’Brien (Greensboro, NC). As our inaugural artist selected from our open call, O’Brien’s work examines systems of control through the death and rebirth of human affected ecosystems.Residence Time uses soundscapes, kinetic sculpture, scent, and layered imagery to highlight the excess prevalence of carcinogen 1,4-Dioxane in Southern water systems as a by-product of the textile industry. Over the past eight years, numerous unnamed spills have resulted in an 18-fold excess of 1,4-Dioxane which can be traced to  Southern tributaries that carry water downstream to the Atlantic.

Through the use of multiple mediums, O’Brien transforms our gallery space into an encompassing installation, eliciting an ambiguous atmosphere that challenges visitors’ perceptions of water, land and industry. The exhibition investigates the role of local government and its complicity in violence against the environment, highlighting the interconnected systems of hierarchy constructed at the cost of natural resources and public health. 

About the Artist

Kelley O’Brien is an interdisciplinary artist working in the American South, with a background in architecture and design. O’Brien’s  work negotiates boundaries between industrial and “natural” landscapes, through a feminist perspective, to explore cultural links between gender hierarchy and the domination of the natural world. Political and environmental systems intertwine to form the core of her practice, often taking the form of time-based media and installations to offer a glimpse into personal and collective experiences across spaces of heightened social and environmental importance.