Orange Dust Postcard Front.jpg

ORANGE DUST

2015 / 2016

Read the Seattle Weekly review by T.S. Flock HERE.

Read the Seattle Times review by Michael Upchurch HERE.

ORANGE DUST, Artifice and the Love of Soft-Living: Troy Gua and BONFIRE unearth the tomb of post-America

Troy Gua fell in love with the wonders of King Tut’s tomb and his lost civilization as a child. The work in Orange Dust is an overt homage to that aesthetic inspiration and to a troubled present-day America, buried beneath the sludge of cultural detritus.

“I am both consumed and repelled by our American contemporary culture. The work in Orange Dust serves as an exhibition of objects and ideas designed to underscore our preventable but gathering fate: a collection of fictional, metaphoric artifacts unearthed from America's impending tomb.

We live in a present day reality where we expect more from our technology and our society than we do from ourselves. We search for happiness in a pill, in one hour delivery, in binge watching, in virtual reality, in memes, in the newest iPhone, in the quickest way to get to the “thing” we think we deserve in order to be who we believe we are…but we no longer are.

Although the theme at the core of this work may seem pessimistic, it is meant as an optimistic overture, a reminder of America’s potential for greatness to underscore the damage inflicted upon ourselves and each other physically, philosophically and otherwise…a wakeup call to rewrite our future.”

Orange Dust opens November 5, 2015 and continues at BONFIRE through January 28, 2016. Receptions each First Thursday of November, December, and January, with newly unearthed acquisitions installed each month.

BONFIRE, a contemporary art gallery located in the historic Panama Hotel at 603 South Main Street in Seattle’s International District, connects people through art, culture and design. The gallery is open 12pm to 5pm, Tuesday through Saturday and by appointment at 206.790.1073. For more details visit www.thisisbonfire.com

All artwork and photos by Troy Gua unless otherwise noted.

©2015-2016 TROY GUA