SPRING/BREAK 2024

Written By Fritz Spofford

KENDALLE GETTY UNVEILS "HOSTILE HOME" INSTALLATION AT SPRING/BREAK ART SHOW IN LA, CURATED BY GAGE SPEX

From February 27 to March 3, 2024, Kendalle exhibited her latest installation, "Hostile Home," at the prestigious SPRING/BREAK Art Show in Los Angeles. Curated by Gage Spex — stepping out of the nightlife scene to make their curatorial debut — this collaboration marks a significant moment in contemporary art as Getty and Spex partner to challenge assumptions surrounding the concept of the family home.

An immersive experience that incorporates sculpture, video and audio works, “Hostile Home” is an exercise in alienation, a depiction of the domestic sphere through a warped, surrealist lens that takes the familiar and renders it unsettling and nightmarish. The work interrogates the design language of domestic decor, incorporating elements of the uncanny, grotesque, and abject to expose the failures of the nuclear unit and emphasize the discomfort of the supposedly comfortable, a world where armchairs protrude with jagged crystals and nails. The notion of the home as a safe haven is confronted, unraveling the dichotomy between familial belonging and chosen community.

In addition to its surrealism, “Hostile Home” incorporates sensibilities of classic Americana and Gothic decay, utilizing the tension between the two to foster a guttural sense of discomfort. A man clad in red white and blue lays motionless on the ground, his face covered in a flag-embroidered jacket and an empty bottle by his side; a dining table sits covered in rotting food and neglected dishes; a vintage television set has its screen removed to reveal a vast dark nothingness behind it. Getty's artwork invites viewers to confront their own memories and perceptions of home. Each piece, born from vision and dream, disrupts traditional notions of family living, laying bare the oppressive structures embedded within.

Getty's personal history, marked by rebellion and resilience, serves as a driving force behind "Hostile Home." Drawing inspiration from chaos, horror movies, and punk rock roots, she navigates liminal spaces, confronting the rules enforced within the familial construct. Spex, having known Getty for many years, makes their curatorial debut with an installation that acts as a natural extension of their many years in the underground nightlife world a space that attempts to provide safety but where still it can be complicated, with work that speaks to an experience resonant with many in the queer community, the timeless themes of discomfort in the home and the longing for chosen family. Together, in a feat of distortion and decontextualization, Getty and Spex transcend the confines of traditional storytelling, offering a cathartic experience for both artist and audience alike.

READ MORE:

Fritz Spofford
Previous

DOCUMENT JOURNAL
Next

DAZED