Mattress Factory’s Danny Bracken On Eugene Macki’s ‘Reification’

What, exactly, is reification? The exhibition notes for the show of the same name at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh through November define it like so: “The process of regarding or treating an abstraction as if it had concrete or material existence.” Another definition asserts that “reification transforms objects into subjects and subjects into objects.” The concept, which has to do with how things and people are perceived in modern capitalist society, is a difficult one for the layperson to grasp, but artist Eugene Macki isn’t a layperson. They’ve studied philosophy extensively, and “REIFICATION,” Macki’s largest and most ambitious project to date, is the latest manifestation of their decades-long exploration of making the intangible tangible.

Macki’s work encompasses sculpture, installation, performance and sound—all of which they’ve used to engage with themes of transformation and meaningfulness. At Mattress Factory, they buried 200 rubber-coated sculptures in a sea of hand-cut cardboard squares, a maximalist maneuver that circles back into minimalism. Visitors navigate an unfinished sloped wood walkway suspended above the debris field toward a three-screen video performance featuring the artist and dancer Michelle Boulé. Themes of labor and value emerge, though visitors are encouraged to come to their own conclusions about what’s purposeful in contemporary culture and why.

Macki, who splits their time between the U.K. and the U.S., isn’t bound by gallery representation, though they’ve been a gallerist themselves. They co-founded Void Art Gallery with Barbara Tong, a short-lived venture from 2013 to 2014, before turning their attention to Peut Guard, an artist award for Black, Asian and minority ethnic artists that offers either a financial grant or a weeklong residency at The Grange Projects. Their own CV is stacked with prestigious residencies—Skowhegan in 2018, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s Creative Exchange Lab in 2019—punctuated by the Gilbert Bayes Award from the Royal Society of Sculptors in 2020.

Observer caught up with Danny Bracken, Mattress Factory’s director of exhibitions, to learn more about the exhibition and what it was like to work with Macki on the installation.

I’m not sure I’ve ever encountered an exhibition text that starts with the dictionary definition of the title. Can you expound on “Reification”—both as a concept and as it relates to Macki’s intentions here? 

Being that Reification is a word that most people probably aren’t familiar with, we felt it important to give the definition at the top so that visitors could have a foundation for understanding the work. Macki spent their early academic years studying philosophy and has gravitated toward this idea for the past decade (it was actually the name of one of their first exhibitions ten years ago). In speaking with Eugene, they see reification as the exchange between making and thinking. It transforms objects into subjects, subjects into objects and actions into properties.

Mattress Factory “invites alumni to shape the exhibition landscape,” which Macki has certainly done here in a very literal way. There are 200 sculptures here, but they’re hidden as part of the larger installation. What can you tell us about the visitor experience? 

Macki was very interested in seeing what happens when visitors move along the elevated walkway and how it forces people to become integrated and part of the installation. Personally, I feel like the act of making over 200 sculptures but then burying them just out of sight is a fantastically performative and poetic action.

How does transformation come into play in the visitor experience? 

The act of moving through the space, going from ground level to an elevated perspective, creates a change in the relationship between visitor and material. Likewise, I think their interest in using materials like rubber and cardboard is also a reflection on the desire for our own perspectives on these materials to become transformed.

Why has Macki focused on working with historically marginalized mediums, here and elsewhere? 

Carboard is such a ubiquitous material, especially in the current moment where so many of the things we buy are shipped directly to our doorsteps. By taking a recognizable material and cutting into these small rectangles, Macki is asking us to rethink the importance of something that we simultaneously need yet discard so quickly. I think one of the great responsibilities of art is to help us see things in a new light, magnify the hidden and transform the ideas embedded within us.

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How do Michelle Boulé’s bodywork (the two artists’ movement in the empty gallery) and Macki’s installation intersect here in the space, and how did that collaboration come about? At the very end of the walkway are three screens with the movement videos played on a loop. At the very beginning of the residency, Boulé came to Pittsburgh and worked with Macki in the empty gallery to record a series of movements. The two of them spent a handful of days working this out, intentionally working without much structure. In my own interpretation, it felt like it was a way for Macki to become comfortable in the space, feel the potential and set the tone for the residency period. The two of them met a number of years ago while at a residency in Oregon and have stayed in touch over the years.

Macki, from what I can tell, seems very private—not in the sense of being withdrawn from the world but in the sense of being absolutely engaged with the work. You’ve spent a great deal of time with them. Would you say that’s apt? 

Macki is extremely dedicated to the work—their focus and drive to develop this project over the two-month duration of the residency was impressive. The intensity almost reminded me of an elite athlete, someone who is able to turn off the noise and put their head down to focus intently.

Back to Mattress Factory: what does it mean to be an “artist-centered museum”? What does that look like beyond this installation? 

Mattress Factory is a radical place for artists to try new things for a diverse and engaged audience. We don’t ask for fully established proposals before we invite an artist, and we offer space and time to develop projects that evolve and respond during an extended engagement period. It’s a chance to work outside of both a traditional collection institution and a commercial context. We offer artists a robust support structure that allows them to make bold new works.