HINDSIGHT

Looking in a rearview mirror while driving is meant to keep us safe, to see what’s coming and to take action. It’s a means of staying alive. In life, retrospection is a tool of introspection, examining what occurred to perhaps avoid being condemned to repeat it all. While the powerful want to dial back the clock on everything from climate change to civil liberties and basic human rights, everyone I know is talking about where we went wrong, what sent us off course, how it came to this. Looking back is important, as is self-reflection and continuing to move forward. For these works, I prefaced each one with the concept “in hindsight...” and let my bleak sense of humor drive things from there. Using the quintessential icon of consumer culture, the car, with bits sourced from the ultimate symbol of capitalistic decay, the auto junkyard, the mirrors became windows into the current traffic jam. It’s inventory season, time to look in the mirror and imagine how to do things differently.   ~ Ruthann Godollei