MOORED ALONG A MYTH, THE MACHINE, & MY MOUTH
March 13th - April 25th 2026
Rachel Youn, Julia Kier Wilson, Colleen Billing
Opening Reception: Friday, March 13th 6-9 pm
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Cleo the Project Space is pleased to present Moored Along a Myth, the Machine, & my Mouth, a three person show featuring the work of Rachel Youn, Julia Kier Wilson, and Colleen Billing. This exhibition is an exploration of identity through three distinct lenses utilizing science, technology, and mysticism to attribute the portraiture on display.
Capturing the essence of an individual through odontology is a scientific support to the romanticism of Wilson’s work. Creating monolithic silhouettes of teeth found in the mouths of a range of subjects, Wilson explores the phenomenon that these shapes bridge both indiscernible to the naked eye but exclusive to a single subject in scientific observation i.e. the forensic identification of a body. These teeth become a stand in for the portrait of many as a signifier for their individuality disguised as potential ubiquity.
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Billing uses the process of Kirlian Photography, also known as electrophotography or electrography, in her work to bridge science and mysticism. Using high-voltage, low-
current electricity to capture corona discharges, electrophotography produces an image resembling an aura around an object.
Billing centers this focus on plants, most often used for medicinal purposes, to produce portraits similar to x-rays. Though often interpreted as the "soul" or "spirit" of its subject, electrophotography captures material interactions, primarily influenced by moisture and conductivity. Each photo expresses an anthropomorphic capture of the plants’ energy. Accompanying these portraits are conductive aluminum panels made in the image of early Jacquard punch cards, a precursor to the technology used in early computational machines. Each panel is inscribed with an abbreviated quotation from 14th century heretical mystic, Maguerrite Porete’s devotional text, The Mirror of Simple Souls, with words of divination translated into binary code.
The anthropomorphizing of the plants is also an impulse in Youn’s work which utilizes found technology, in mainly massagers amongst others, to animate plastic flowers in movement. These moments become portraits imbued with sensitivities to certain emotive expressions like anxiety, confidence, and vulnerability. With each specific movement these objects are individualized under the broader exploration of femininity and exoticism, imbuing these objects with sympathy through a necessary view attached to the personal lens of the gallery goer.
Moored Along a Myth, the Machine, & my Mouth is on view at Cleo the Project Space March 13th - April 25th, 2026.
Rachel Youn (b. 1994, Abington, PA) has had solo exhibitions at Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Sargent’s Daughters, New York, NY; G Gallery, Seoul, South Korea; and Soy Capitán, Berlin, Germany, among others. Youn has participated in numerous group exhibitions at venues including Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy; FuoriCamp, Siena, Italy; Kunsthalle Barmen, Wuppertal, Germany; DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague, Czech Republic; Alice Amati, London, UK; PODIUM, Hong Kong, China; The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT; SHRINE, New York, NY; Gallery Belenius, Stockholm, Sweden; and Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH, among others. Youn is a recipient of the Lighthouse Works Fellowship, the Vermont Studio Center Fellowship and the 2020 Great Rivers Biennial Award. They received their BFA from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO. Youn holds an MFA from Yale School of Art in New Haven. They live and work in Albuquerque, NM and are represented by Sargent’s Daughter (New York), Soy Capitán (Berlin), and G Gallery (Seoul).
rachelyoun.com / @rachelyoun
Julia Kier Wilson is an artist, who loves thinking about teeth, mythology, religion, and language. She received a Bachelor of Arts in classics with a concentration in Latin and Ancient Greek translation from the University of Virginia and a Master of Fine Arts in photography. She is currently living and working in the Adirondacks.
Colleen Billing is an artist living and working in New York. She received her BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and her MFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. She has participated in residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, LMCC Arts Center and Vermont Studio Center. She has exhibited work at ILY2, New York, NY, ROMANCE, Pittsburgh, PA, David Peter Francis, New York, NY, Greene Naftali, New York, NY, Miriam, Brooklyn, NY, Benny's Video, Brooklyn, NY, Bad Water, Knoxville, TN.
colleenbilling.com / @conspiracy_of_woman