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Marzena Abrahamik and Jordan Martins
Marzena Abrahamik and Jordan Martins

Are some colors or patterns more conducive of psychedelic experience than others? Without doubt, certain substances are, but what about places or times of day or textures or behaviors? In From a Strange Place, their two-person show at HEAVEN Gallery in Chicago (cancelled then reopened under limited hours), photographer Marzena Abrahamik and painter Jordan Martins explore the possibilities. They include: the resemblance between crashing waves, the branches of a large tree, the gills of a giant mushroom, and the reflection of light on water; the snaking of a vibrantly dotted line; being in the ocean with a happy baby; irregular turquoise, mustard, red and olive patches intercut with other levels of imagery; violent vomiting; flowers seen through a haze. Though the work on view is primarily two dimensional, the overlaying of art on and off the walls of the gallery moves the exhibition into the third and fourth dimensions, beckoning visitors to join a trip that scientists, at least, are finally starting to take seriously again.

—Lori Waxman 2020-09-09 3:52 PM