Year: 2024
Medium: Terrarium Tank, Industrial Fan, Water, Reptile Misting System, Sand, Rocks, Taylor Swift Vinyls, The Eras Tour Merchandise, Skims Shapewear, Skkn By Kim, Stanley Quencher H2.0 Tumblers In Cream And Rose Quartz
Dimension: 7 feet H x 50 inches D 
Location: Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space, 88 Essex St, New York, NY 10002
Presented by Abrons Arts Center And Artists Alliance Inc.

Accelerationism is a radical belief that calls for a drastic acceleration in capitalist growth, technological innovations, and other processes of social change to destabilize existing systems and create radical social transformations. In the eponymous kinetic installation, Alexander Si constructs a self-contained terrarium that simulates the weather patterns of a desert ecosystem—complete with artificial sun, wind, and rainfall. Controlled by internal heat sensors, the environment shifts in response to temperature: a reptile heat lamp activates when it cools, while rain and storm effects are triggered when temperatures rise above 75°F.

Inside the tank, fragments of contemporary consumer culture—Taylor Swift merchandise, Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS shapewear and SKKN skincare packaging, Stanley Tumblers—are half-buried in sand and stone. The scene oscillates between exposure and concealment, functioning as both archaeological site and burial ground. Through this closed-loop ecosystem, Si stages a critique of late capitalist desire, branding, and the speculative cycles of accumulation and decay.

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