STEPHANIE NOVA:
CONSIDERING A PLOT (DIG FOR VICTORY)

SEPTEMBER 16 – DECEMBER 30, 2011

Considering a Plot (Dig for Victory) is a work in progress, developed by French artist Stéphanie Nava. Its installation at MOCAD marks the artist’s first solo exhibition in the United States. The installation is based on the specifications and history of English allotments, or subsistence gardens. Started in London in 2001 as part of the Institut Français Villa Médicis Hors les murs residency program, the project evolved over time and holds at its core issues revolving around the United Kingdom and United States government programs encouraging citizens to “grow your own” [food] during the Second World War, as a system of setting produce shortages.

The installation addressed questions of representation in drawing: namely the relationship between plane and perspective, issues of dexterity and skill, as well as the importance of the line as constructor of space both in two and three dimensions. Nava draws from multiple genealogies of drawing, referencing archival, botanical, architectural, and technical forms of the discipline all at once. The mixed media installation considers the role of the allotment, as a site of political, economic and military strategy; community relationships and of course, of gardening and urban farming through a narrative form that draws from areas of expertise such as urban planning and tourism.

The exhibition is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and curated by Luis Croquer. Major support for the Stéphanie Nava: Considering a Plot (Dig for Victory) is provided by The Graham Foundation For Advanced Studies In The Fine Arts, The Mason Française, The Cultural Services of The French Embassy and the Institut Français. Additional support is provided by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

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