Mikayla Whitmore
"Exit Strategy," 2019
The Extinguisher Gallery
Hammer, Gold Paint, Gold Mylar, Spotlight
Courtesy the Artist

This work was on loan for the exhibition Mikayla Whitmore: Between a Rock and a Cliff, at the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art, January 13, 2020 - February 8, 2020

The fire extinguisher cabinet -- a small theatrical space that promises to rescue anyone who obeys its simple instruction, “Break Glass” – speaks to Mikayla Whitmore’s method of using dioramas and miniatures in her practice. It reflects her interest in moments of anxiety and crisis, those times when we are assessing our exit strategies in case an emergency happens, while simultaneously feeling underprepared and recognizing that time can’t be stopped. The hammer is physically close to us but the glass barrier removes it into the realm of a cinematic mirage, the promise of a salvation that has become paradoxically attainable and impossible. The theatricality of the spectacle reminds us that, ultimately, the responsibility for enacting a rescue will be placed on ourselves.