The contemporary art exhibition for Your Ring opened on Valentine’s Day at PLAY(THE UNDER)GROUND—a project space run by the curatorial collective mais uno +1 at the Picoas metro station. It was planned to be an exhibition in which love-mccorkle would display a supply of keychain paintings, for keyrings, and offer visitors a preview of a series of sculpted paintings that she will officially debut in the spring. However, after two hours went by without any passersby entering the space, she decided she would change her approach.

More text on the exhibition here.

below is a work of creative non-fiction by Love-Mccorkle titled cherries in a powder blue bowl that was originally written and published within an email to a mentor, of sorts, and again as part of the post-show reflection Pondering On: An Open-Practice Exhibition Within the Metro Station Picoas.

Cherries in a powder blue bowl
I begin with the word “cherries.” In order to draw the cherries, I must first visualize the cherries. How do I visualize the cherries? I choose the pastels I will use to draw the cherries. Where do I visualize the cherries? In a bowl, and the bowl is powder blue. I become conscious that by drawing with certain colors, I have unconsciously established the weather—and it’s chilly, it seems. I choose another color and warm it up. It has now become a scene; there is a table under the bowl, and alongside the bowl on the table, I have drawn a bottle of wine. This has made it luxe, which upsets me. I scribble over the bottle with black, and a bird with a yellow beak is born. It wraps its wing about the bowl, as if to pull it closer. I pull my hands back, look at the drawing, and ask it: are all of these cherries for the black bird, or does the black bird guard them from becoming commodities?

About PLAY(THE UNDER)GROUND:

“Launched in April 2024, PLAY(THE UNDER)GROUND is an ongoing Open Call inviting artists and cultural professionals residing in Lisbon to develop alternative formats for exhibitions, workshops, performances, and events at the mais uno +1 project space, located in the Picoas metro station.

By bringing art to Lisbon’s underground transport system, mais uno +1 aims to explore the intersections between public space, art, and community engagement. By highlighting the potential of the Lisbon metro as a vibrant and accessible cultural hub, PLAY(THE UNDER)GROUND seeks to alter the relationship between commuters and the metro infrastructure—and invites passengers, residents, and visitors to reimagine their relationship with art.” (Text provided by mais uno + 1)