THE SUB-MISSION is pleased to announce Electrum, a site-responsive installation by Regina Mamou that scrutinizes the incorporation of pseudo-science into theological practices while disputing the Cartesian duality of the physical and spiritual enshrined in Western culture. Mamou creates a space where spirituality may be located within the body by scientific means, thereby questioning the implications of quantifying the non-material self on an individual’s belief systems. An opening reception will be held on Friday, November 6, from 6pm to 8pm. The exhibition continues through Saturday, December 19, 2015.
Electrum investigates the properties of electropsychometers, commonly known as E-Meters, instruments which measure the electrodermal activity evident on human skin. Physiologists originally developed the E-Meter to study nerve action potential; however, the device has become almostexclusively associated with contemporary religions. Practicing members adopted the E-Meter as a religious object which performs ritualistic cleansing by removing painful memories through the act of measurement, therefore balancing one’s psychological state. In Electrum, five functional E-Meters placed on cylindrical white pedestals form a wide ring around THE SUB-MISSION space, inviting the viewer in as though to worship or take sacrament. Hovering copper light fixtures beam black light onto the pedestals, further perpetuating the ritualistic atmosphere. As viewers approach the E-Meters, the devices will receive and measure their psychological state and energy. Mamou wonders if inspecting an operating E-Meter compels believers or skeptics to adjust their respective lines ofthinking, or if one’s spiritual convictions can be affected by observing the E-Meters calculate their consciousness into numbers on a scale.
REGINA MAMOU (American, b. 1983) lives and works in Los Angeles and Chicago. She has exhibited internationally at the Makan Art Space in Amman, Jordan; Action Field Kodra in Thessaloniki, Greece; the Historic Water Tower Gallery in Chicago, Illinois; and the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts in New York, New York, among others. Her work has been written about in Artforum.com, Newcity Art, Culturehall, Afterimage, and Contemporaneity. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, and was a Fulbright fellow to Jordan.
Electrum investigates the properties of electropsychometers, commonly known as E-Meters, instruments which measure the electrodermal activity evident on human skin. Physiologists originally developed the E-Meter to study nerve action potential; however, the device has become almostexclusively associated with contemporary religions. Practicing members adopted the E-Meter as a religious object which performs ritualistic cleansing by removing painful memories through the act of measurement, therefore balancing one’s psychological state. In Electrum, five functional E-Meters placed on cylindrical white pedestals form a wide ring around THE SUB-MISSION space, inviting the viewer in as though to worship or take sacrament. Hovering copper light fixtures beam black light onto the pedestals, further perpetuating the ritualistic atmosphere. As viewers approach the E-Meters, the devices will receive and measure their psychological state and energy. Mamou wonders if inspecting an operating E-Meter compels believers or skeptics to adjust their respective lines ofthinking, or if one’s spiritual convictions can be affected by observing the E-Meters calculate their consciousness into numbers on a scale.
REGINA MAMOU (American, b. 1983) lives and works in Los Angeles and Chicago. She has exhibited internationally at the Makan Art Space in Amman, Jordan; Action Field Kodra in Thessaloniki, Greece; the Historic Water Tower Gallery in Chicago, Illinois; and the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts in New York, New York, among others. Her work has been written about in Artforum.com, Newcity Art, Culturehall, Afterimage, and Contemporaneity. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, and was a Fulbright fellow to Jordan.
