click to view site navigation menu

Dream, Desire, Despair

Mirage of the Sprawl

Nicole Beno

November 15, 2025 - January 10, 2026

Essay by Coco Zhou

Saturday, November 15, 2025–Saturday, January 10, 2026

Opening reception: Friday, November 14, 2025 from 7pm–10pm

 

The artwork visualizes a simulated version of nature – like a mirage, surpassing the natural world itself, fabricated as though a theatrical stage. The nature that we often see in advertising – supercharged, extra juicy and plump, too good to be true. The artwork will blend the natural and the artificial, creating a surreal space where the two realms collapse into one another. Organic forms melt into synthetic patterns, blurring boundaries and questioning what is real. The concept draws inspiration from Jean Baudrillard’s theory of 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, exploring the intersection between authenticity and its artificial representation. The artwork, constructed from collaged and repurposed materials—old magazines, torn and reimagined—takes the form of a sprawling landscape. From a distance, it evokes the serenity of nature, yet a closer examination reveals a hidden world.