Genesis Belanger
coins for the ferryman
2019
Porcelain and stoneware
Size variable
Courtesy the artist and Francois Ghebaly Gallery,
Los Angeles CA
Photo credits: Pauline Shapiro

THE BLANK CONTEMPORARY ART
99 WORDS WITH GENESIS BELANGER

There seems to be a gulf between how little we understand what motivates our actions. Originally, I was fascinated by this unknowing and how it was – almost – weaponized against us by the advertising industry. More recently I have noticed how this inner disconnect affects us in a more intimate context: how we grieve. Loss is an inevitable part of life, yet we are so obsessed with living we have very little support for it culturally. This disincentivizes a present tense understanding of how we are affected by our grief. We mourn many things – a death being paramount – but the gravity of an ultimate loss does not negate the pain of lesser losses. We all mourn the big and small absences. It is time to pull all these messy feelings into the known.