On Henry Street, Dispatches From Another Universe

Chris Gardner Photos.

Colorful patterned circles radiate from the head of a seated being, composed of hand-collaged pieces of paper. A silhouetted figure, adorned by gold decals on the forehead and across the chest, appears in a meditative pose, a hand resting on each knee. At the base of the figure, a large golden circle aligns with the root chakra, forging a connection between the creative impulse and the foundation of life. 

In Birthing a New Sky (Miya and Sora) Brooklyn-based artist Saya Woolfalk introduces the mystical blend of spirituality and flora that courses through her show, Field Notes from the Empathic Universe. The exhibition runs at NXTHVN through Nov. 19; it debuted in 2021 at the Newark Art Museum, where Woolfalk was an artist in residence. 

Drawing from her family background—a mix of Black American, European American, and Japanese influences—Woolfalk envisions the world of a future race known as the “Empathics” in her solo show. As these beings—part plant, part human—shift shapes and travel across time, the exhibition moves from tactile collages to a cosmic and immersive video installation. 

Chris Gardner Photos.

This trajectory seems to trace the evolution of Woolfalk’s practice as the artist has embraced more involved new media outlets in recent years. While at the Newark Art Museum, Woolfalk studied the museum’s plant specimens and landscape paintings, plotting interactions between these materials, the American psyche, and the Empathics. The body of work that resulted from this research morphs science and fantasy, borrowing equally from religion, mythology, and fashion. 

The front room of the gallery at NXTHVN functions like a library of characters inside Woolfalk’s dazzling world. Across the central wall on top of a custom wallpaper, three large framed works depict three complex inkjet print portraits with collaged elements on cream paper. Three pillows, each made from fabrics that match the colors and aesthetic of the collages, sit in front of each work as invitations for introspection or meditation (though it is unclear if viewers are allowed to touch these forms). 

An adjacent wall shows four similar works on dark backgrounds; each piece illustrates an example of the equivocal beings that might roam the future world Woolfalk has summoned. Allusions to various cultures and times intermingle so raucously that distinct references become difficult to disentangle. Precise origins are hard to parse, yet most, if not all, the figures seem feminine. They drip with embellishments, with rings of color wheels, nets of small dots, and delicate sprays of foliage. 

Chris Gardner Photos.

Ornament is the entry point for these works, leading the viewer to the crux of the exhibition inside the back room. Behind a heavy black curtain, Woolfalk’s video installation titled Cloudscape provides a viewer with the opportunity to experience the dizzying phantasmagoria of the Empathic universe. A small speaker in the corner of the darkened chamber pumps music with an up-tempo new age-y vibe into the space.

The front room of the gallery introduces viewers to a cast of Woolfalk’s people, while inside the next room, a viewer has a more complete glimpse of how and where these characters might live. 

The back wall portrays a lush landscape with three figures embedded into the scenery. Two characters on adjoining walls flank this terrain, while another projector scatters images of golden, green, and brown leaves onto the floor. A similar sequence reappears in the figure on the right, underscoring Woolfalk’s reliance on collage throughout the show. The recurrence of similar forms and characters stresses the theme of pastiche: the Empathic environment has symbols and elements that echo in the collages (both digital and analog), wallpaper, and animations. 

Chris Gardner Photos.

While the landscape occupies more space in this back room, the two figures inside their plant-filled orbs are far more captivating. With bodies made of elaborate vines and spindly teal leaves, the creatures have human faces. They peer out and avoid engaging the viewer; their gaze surveils their world expectantly. 

As a result, these beings do not seem entirely enlightened; there’s a slight feeling of agitation or restlessness associated with the glitchiness of their movements. Likewise, the music in the room seems a bit too fast to convey nirvana. The figures seem to be resting, perhaps trapped in a vigilant state in some sort of underwater cell. Their eyes blink a bit too often, and when the animated sequences of the video projections restart, there’s a short but pregnant pause that mirrors this movement. 

Outside the gallery, the exhibition continues along a black wall that leads to other parts of NXTHVN, including an elevator that features another mural by Woolfalk. Disconnected from the main exhibition space, this extension of the show could be easily missed by some visitors. The most important pieces of the show are found elsewhere—inside the gallery, especially in Cloudscape. 

Chris Gardner Photos.

If Woolfalk’s Empathics are an accurate telling of the human race, we can expect a future that melds cultures to an extreme. Woolfalk’s glittering world entices, but a viewer might wonder: Is there danger in this radical fusion of distinct beliefs and their connected materials, or is this the natural evolution of the human race? 

Saya Woolfalk: Field Notes from the Empathic Universe runs through November 19, 2023, at NXTHVN, 169 Henry St. in New Haven’s Dixwell neighborhood.