Rubus Discolor Project is pleased to present Chicxulub, a final group exhibition curated by co-director, Leslie Hickey. The show runs from April 30 - June 4, 2023 and is open on Sundays from 1 - 4 pm and by appointment. 

Akshay Mahajan

Ana Lía Orézzoli

Brittany V Wilder

C.C.

Dania Hany

Eva Frazier

Frank Biringer

Hana Sackler

Jason Fulford

Jennifer Timmer Trail

Krisztián Éder

Margherita Villani

Paisley Valentine Walsh

Sophie Wright

Valentino Bellini

Approximately 66 million years ago, a large asteroid 6.21 miles (10 km) in diameter crashed into the Yucatán Peninsula, leaving a giant crater near the modern-day town of Chicxulub, Mexico. The aftermath of the impact changed the trajectory of life on Earth forever. This event ended the reign of the dinosaurs in a cataclysm that erupted in forest fires, earthquakes, and a deluge of dust and ash that blocked the sun, creating a sudden drop in surface temperature that persisted for a decade or longer. 

While tragic for what was then the natural order, the seeds of renewal were sown by the asteroid itself. Recent scientific inquiry has indicated that the asteroid induced a “vast subsurface hydrothermal system that became an oasis for the recovery of life.”* In ultimate destruction, renewal. In endings, new beginnings. In darkness, a tiny pinprick of light.

On a much smaller scale, we at Rubus Discolor Project are approaching our own extinction event. After four years and seven shows, we have sold the house, and in the coming months it will be deconstructed, taken apart piece by piece, window by window, and brick by brick. Following the rules of urban succession, an apartment complex will take its place. The end of the current phase of RDP is bittersweet as most meaningful change is.

For this last show, fourteen photographers contributed images that symbolize Chicxulub. Brooklyn-based C.C., our fifteenth artist, shared an unpublished zine titled, It Was Good, in which they rewrote the first chapter of Genesis redacting any mention of God, so that the world creates itself. Along the walls of the house, wheat pasted photographs are interspersed with the atheistic creation myth. A neglected aquarium with a single floating fish, a volcano mid-eruption, a file cabinet bearing the words “disaster plan in here”. Lying flat on a table are Chicxulub-inspired gouache paintings by artist and curator, Leslie Hickey. Photographs have arrived from near and far: The USA, Peru, Norway, England, Germany, Spain, Italy, Egypt, India, and somewhere along the Mediterranean. All are wheat pasted to the walls of the house and will remain there for as long as the house stands. 

Hours: Sundays 1 - 4 pm, also by appointment.