The Gilded Cage

Philippe Hyojung Kim and Nicholas Nyland

September 2020

Slip Gallery, Tacoma

The Gilded Cage presents an installation of artwork by Philippe Hyojung Kim and Nicholas Nyland which is designed to be encountered by peering through the Slip gallery storefront window. The sculptural elements include Kim’s cast resin and plaster “jellies” that catch the light with their sensual and richly colored organic forms. Nyland’s tufted sculpture is an ambiguous figural form that suggests a place of repose for the viewer and an object of the viewer’s gaze. The title is a reference to the film by James Bidgood whose erotically charged work was constructed out of clever use of cheap and overtly synthetic materials which were transformed into a fantasy world when viewed through the lens of his camera. Considering that we have all been placed into relative isolation, this moment is turning us all into voyeurs who now access our world through the images of our computers and phones. The Gilded Cage is a site of reflection for the anxieties of our current existence and an opportunity for relief where the viewer may project themselves into a scene of pleasurable forms and color.