Cement Flow
Raine Roberts
August 20, 2023 — October 21, 2023
Cement Flow is a solo exhibition showcasing new artworks by Bushwick-based photographer, filmmaker, and sculpture artist, Raine Roberts, featuring a series of photographic-sculptural works, as well as a site-specific installation on the sidewalk in front of the gallery.
To cement is to concrete, to set, to solidify. In this case, a habit — neither bad nor good. A ritualistic act. A repetition of thought. A path eroded from overuse. What happens to these routes in our brains that have consistent runoff? Storms that spiral inward, downward. Creating deepening troughs that make it harder to climb out. Erosion. “Concentrated Flow Paths” in topographical terms is the phenomenon of rainwater hitting the surface of the earth. Water always runs downhill. Water will run down the eroded path, one that has been used many times before. Often the vegetation is disturbed and can cause mudslides and unstable grounds. This natural occurrence is metaphorically linked to help understand and explain human thought patterns. When we receive an overflow of stress and anxiety, oftentimes our thought paths are eroded to dictate where this emotion will go. If it's an unstable flow path, it can be quite damaging to our psyche.
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Raine Roberts is a photographer, filmmaker, sculptor, and educator. Her work studies themes of repetition, structure, the natural environment, and the body.