Artwork by Jeremy Okai Davis and Debbie Carlos

Exibition June 3 - June 30
Opening Night June 3rd 7 pm

Musical Guest: Probably Vampires | site

From Jeremy Okai Davis:
Jeremy Okai Davis was born in Charlotte, NC. His art is in direct correlation to the people he sees from day to day and the relationships that are formed. He also works with popular imagery in his paintings in the vein of Pop art but with a more intimate spin.

He received a BFA in painting from UNC-Charlotte. Since graduation he has worked as a designer in Charlotte and has had numerous art shows locally. This show at Relative Theory Records Gallery Space marks his first out of state.

For this show, Davis has created works that relate directly to a road trip that he took early 2006. He trekked through Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri in search of solace and piece of mind after his design firm relocated. He left with wonder and worry and returned with solidified friendships and a terrifying run in with a deer. The trip was filled with discoveries and these paintings are his attempt at sharing these said discoveries.

From Debbie Carlos:
The natural history museum is a tool to teach us about our history, the
natural world and the things in it that we should take care of and
preserve. Yet it is filled with objects that have had to die in order to
serve the needs of human study . This institution is filled with
taxidermied animals, many times positioned in displays that mimic their
natural habitat. Thus, the dialectic of the museum becomes the tendency to
want to teach and protect the majesty of nature but it also reflects our
desire to conquer it. In the museum, nature is labeled, classified and
static, everything that it is not.

The images were shot in a way that takes from nature photography but shown
in a very unnatural light. The dark, desaturated tones and the murky
quality of the images, as if being preserved in formaldehyde, convey this
unnatural deathly quality and the strange sensuality from having mastered
that which was not made to be confined.

Jeremy’s site: jeremyokaidavis.com
Debbie’s site: hellogirlfriend.com

Here are some samples: