ofWater: TRANSCENDENTAL SUN

Alda Boyd

PUTTY'S CORONATION is pleased to announce the opening of OFWATER: TRANSCENDENTAL SUN, a solo exhibition by Alda Boyd at Putty’s Coronation at 1086 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206 from May 28th - June 25th, 2022. OFWATER is a three-part series of exhibitions by artists who focus on water as an environmental subject, material, and allegory in a time of uncertainty.     

In her solo debut at Putty’s Coronation, Alda Boyd presents  OFWATER: TRANSCENDENTAL SUN, an immersive audiovisual installation. 

“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” — Loren Eiseley

Water occupies a special place in our collective consciousness. Appearing prominently throughout human cultures, it is an element that reaches beyond the chemical, inspiring our imaginations towards the metaphysical. Its ability to physically transcend between solid, liquid, and gas while retaining its molecular structure provides the space to reimagine and aspire. Between the physical and more than-human entities, things can get fluid and wet. It is from this context that ofWater: Transcendental Sun is born. Speculating on a shared future marked by hybridity, Alda Boyd channels the malleability and flexibility of water to create newly imagined futures within the digital realm. 

In ofWater: Transcendental Sun, the viewer is immersed in Boyd’s alternative reality of shifting time and spaces. Leaning into the fanciful, Boyd’s world is highly stylized, using conditions set by digital technologies to create an extravagant, lush, mystical world. Large video projects surround the gallery, presenting a quasi-utopian universe that challenges towards another sensorium. Extraterrestrial figures with synthetic skin, lounge amongst a roman greco-ruin surrounded by water. These sentient creatures embody the presence of different worlds which, like dreams, progress by free association and fragmentation. In this space, the digital becomes an incentive for imagining differently what human futures could be. 

Responding to the notions of fluid networked systems, ofWater: Transcendental Sun utilizes a whirlwind of images and references between dreamed dimensions, imagination, and existing reality to examine the fundamental role of dreams in defining the most authentic spirit of the human being in every age and culture. The dream world is timeless and universal. As in water's ability to transcend physical forms, Boyd presents an utopian futurism capable of overcoming political, cultural, language gender, religion, and expression barriers.

Alda Boyd is a 23-year-old Nigerian-American artist with a background in creative technology; she's a recent graduate of Parsons School of Design, majoring in Design and Technology. She possesses a deep passion for VR, digital art, and emerging technologies.