The Exodus Project by Ayin Es

An artistic exploration through Joshua Tree, CA

"Es goes beyond a simple travel residency and creation of works responding to a specific region. [They] enter the terrain searching for an experience that extends beyond dust, spiny trees, and massive rock formations. Most importantly, [their] journey was more arduous than anticipated. [They are] the unexpected pilgrim, one whose search for healing led [them] to reconcile [their] past with [their] present. Alongside Es, we too can make a pilgrimage into the wilderness honoring the steps we take toward healing our whole selves."

- Anne Hromadka, Independent Curator

Exodus began as a singular project when I went on a 10-day residency near the Joshua Tree National Park in 2014. From this grew a years-long research and art-making project which generated countless sketches, photographs, DV footage, field notes, Kabbalah study, daily meditation, and an online blog that documented the culminating inspiration for the entire endeavor.

From this experience, I worked on a collaborative film (Up to Now) with artists Jonathan Nesmith and Susan Holloway. The film was first screened in a video installation entitled, Camp UTN (Up to Now) and shown along side of my solo show (Exodus) in 2015 at Shulamit Gallery in Venice, CA.

The resulting work became the grounding for what is now known as The Exodus Project.

This journey to the edge of wilderness and process of self-reflection is conveyed in each body of work on canvas, paper, and wood. My mixed media collages, entitled, "Rock and Refuge" are an abstract look at the architecture in the high desert landscape; a series of oil paintings simply called, the "Joshua Tree Paintings;" and two series of watercolor paintings--the illustrated junk pieces from the movie being pulled on by colored string, and the Tree of Life diagrams, also known as the Sephirot were all on display among the first exhibition.

For more information about this ongoing project, visit the Exodus Project site.