Azza El Siddique

If, as science tells us, the universe tends toward chaos, then we may find relief in untethering ourselves from a linear, finite notion of time. The works in Azza El Siddique’s solo exhibition “Dampen the flame; Extinguish the fire” leaned longingly into the possibilities of cyclical states. They flowed back into themselves and continuously metamorphosed, insisting that some things always remain in the wake of loss. Inspired by her research into ancient Egyptian and Nubian death traditions, El Siddique grapples with protean matters: the inevitable collapse of everything, what happens after life,

picks May 24, 2022

Heidi Lau

The catacombs of this urban cemetery are above ground, tunneled into a hillside in the 1850s, perhaps to allay Victoran-era fears of being buried alive. It’s in this clammy space assuring eternal rest that Heidi Lau has embedded a sculpture garden that nimbly bridges the terrestrial and the celestial. Her craggy, porous ceramics are hand built with archaic flair, as if hewn by wind and water. They recall spirit stones or scholar’s rocks: bones of the earth endowed with primordial energies. Some of Lau’s works reach for the mausoleum’s skylights; others cast moody penumbrae as they dangle from