‘Memories are uncertain friends’: Exhibit Robbie Austin’s love letter to Lake Charles
Published 12:56 pm Thursday, April 6, 2023
Robbie Austin’s “And love is only heaven away,” left, and “As daylight broke, I saw the earth,” above, can be viewed with their corresponding augmented reality component, top, at the Historic City Hall show. There is also an audio component to the exhibition. (Special to the American Press)
Robbie Austin’s “Memories are uncertain friends” is a love letter to the Lake Charles communities’ progress and recovery from the destruction that Hurricane Laura left in its wake.
This exhibition – to which he credits his wife, Nicole, for encouraging him to display his art for the city – was a special opportunity for him to “bring the experience to the many people within and of the city that inspired the work.”
Robbie Austin began creating “Memories are uncertain friends” in the summer of 2022 with used engineer’s field book pages that he found after Hurricane Laura. The pages serve as canvases for his paintings, created with gouache, ink and pencil color, and are framed in wood and bamboo.
As he began working with the materials from the field guide, he found that Laura’s landfall followed the path of the pages. “I’d started painting on this paper two years prior, and it struck me that much of the surveyed lands were storm paths that brought the people of SWLA much upheaval and despair,” he explained. “Time had passed, though, and I started seeing buildings razed that were in disrepair from Hurricanes Laura and Delta. Green spaces began opening, and concrete slabs awaited new construction.”
His collection is an exploration into this survival and rebirth. “Consequently, I came to see these new paintings with their bright markings and ribbons as brickwork, playgrounds of new life and rebirth. My relationship with these pages that I found after the hurricanes of 2020 has become one of reencounters and renewals.”
“I understand these local pages to be stormproof. I feel the same about the people too.”
The exhibition has an interactive, technological component to it, which is provided by Gigantic Network – an augmented reality (AR) developer. While Joshua McGee, Gigantic Network CEO, was persistent and confident in the collaboration, Austin was hesitant.
“I thought there would be an inherent competition between the paintings and the augmented art… but Josh and I discussed it at length and I saw that my paintings could be a foundation or springboard for his exciting interactive technology.”
There is also an audio component to the exhibition. The use of audio and AR to display the pieces speaks to the evolution of art that is happening in the present day.
Austin believes that humans, no matter the medium, will always be inclined to leave a mark. “No matter how far we project visions of what art will be, making a mark on a surface or in space can always be current and effective. Gigantic and I have perhaps redefined or reimagined where and what that marking might be.”
The use of tech as a paintbrush is especially prevalent with the constant access to it that exists today. “It is more common today to find a phone in your pocket than it is a pencil behind your ear. Perhaps we are reimagining tools, not abolishing them.
Ultimately, the inclusion of AR in the exhibition helped Austin push his limits as an artist. “Partnering with Gigantic Network has helped me to shed some inhibitions that I had been holding onto without good reason. I opened my eyes to more doors.”
He isn’t sure if AR adds any additional meaning to his works, but he recognizes that some might be more encouraged to engage with the art if technology is involved, and participation is the most important part. “The message is the same, but the digital delivery brings others in. We’ve all experienced the last two and a half years together,” he said. “These works have been my way of seeing growth and new life after and even during the difficult times.”
“The hope was that the digital element would give others a way of doing the same.”
Austin was able to witness the interactivity at the artist’s reception that took place on March 30. He noticed some easing into the AR, some learning how to use the technology and some patrons not taking their phones out at all. He is satisfied with every level of tech use. “It means that the competition I was wary of between actual versus augmented is secondary to the experience.”
“I think I will always be a pencil and paper guy, but that does not mean I enjoy roller coasters less.”
“Memories are uncertain friends” will be open from March 30 until May 27 in the second floor gallery at the Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural Center.
All of Austin’s works are for sale.
