PATRICK EUGÈNE, ‘DECONSTRUCTION’
BROOKLYN ARTS FELLOWSHIP
SEPTEMBER 8 – 30, 2016
De·con·struc·tion [dēkənˈstrəkSHən] noun:
a method of critical analysis of philosophical and literary language that emphasizes the internal workings of language and conceptual systems, the relational quality of meaning, and the assumptions implicit in forms of expression.
The work of Patrick Eugène (b.1984) demands that viewers critically question the challenges faced by millennial on a daily basis. Peeling back the many layers of often over-simplified issues, Eugène’s form of abstraction adds a level of introspection to that which is usually overlooked.
Some of America’s most blighted urban landscapes are a developer’s wonderland and many a culture’s refuge. Neighborhoods rich in immigrant communities have traditionally provided affordable havens for ethnic tradition to thrive and tight-knit networks to flourish. These are the places where you know everyone on your block and intergenerational family bonds are long established. The housing crunch has encouraged developers to spread further outward from city centers, erecting high priced high-rises in neighborhoods that previously weren’t even on the map. The families that have called these neighborhoods home, often for generations, can neither afford to buy into, nor fit the vision of the development companies breaking ground around them. What are they to do? Community revitalization is something to aspire to, but what does it mean when the revitalization of your neighborhood is distinctly and unequivocally not for you?