Ellen Schafer: Nickelodeon Universe

extended until 18 December 2021

Opening
29 October 2021, 5—9 pm

Ellen Schafer (New Jersey, 1985) sifts through the material detritus of consumerism in its downward trajectory from new to resale to donation to landfill. Nickelodeon Universe, Schafer’s title for her solo show at WONNERTH DEJACO, takes its name from the American children’s television network and its corresponding amusement parks centrally located in American mega malls.

In Schafer’s works, the Nickelodeon Universe theme park functions as a metaphor for rampant American consumerism in a state of decline. From storefront to Sky Mall to Ebay to Amazon to Instagram, consumer capitalism and its byproducts have become increasingly abstracted and omnipresent. Melancholia lingers in this type of haunting.