In the Sticks

Immersive installation proposal for Cannonball Arts

The sticks, the boonies, no man’s land; these terms relate to locations far from cities, culture, and civilized life. Our minds relegate the sticks to places that are fearful, lawless, or unwelcoming where uncertainty rules, banjos play, and bad things happen. Often wooded they are places illuminated by moonlight where strange animals stir, and unusual encounters are the norm.

In the Sticks you stumble across a ramshackle hovel that feels safe enough to enter. Think off-grid lean-to, hermit hideout or bug-out bunker where conspiracies are woven into the ephemera left by squatters who last occupied this space. The dingy décor ranging from an army issue cot, pot-belly stove, cast iron skillets, dubious books, heavy canvas, and fur pelts, stand in stark contrast to the tin foil, hand-made drawings, maps, vintage computers blinking location beacons and screens seemingly monitoring strange phenomena.

An eerie light glowing through the back door frame beckons you to continue onward and you emerge now fully immersed in the woods. For many solace is found in nature. Lush and verdant forests offer a place of retreat and reflection. By contrast the woods In the Sticks represent an experience of another sort: a wild shadowy place with toadstools, mythical creatures, and supernatural encounters. Pathways lead to vignettes of alien abductions, unexplained lights, and baffling phenomena plus magical flora and fauna. It is In the Sticks where our deepest fears and unmitigated imagination collide.

If interested in this project, renderings and Sketch files are available upon request.

Mel’s Hole

SOIL Gallery, Seattle WA

January 2023

Project Link

Mel’s Hole was a PUNCH Project collaboration featured at SOIL Gallery in Seattle. Straight from the vaults of Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell, Mel’s Hole ranks 8th out of the 20 Most Mysterious Places in the USA, according to the travel.com website. Supposedly existing a stone’s throw from the small university and rodeo town of Ellensburg in central Washington State, PUNCH temporarily recreated the phenomenon at Soil Gallery in Seattle. The installation includes found materials and objects, combined with video, audio and lighting effects.

The Woods

Central Washington University, Ellensburg WA

January 2018

Project Link

For many, solace is found in nature. Lush and verdant forests offer a place of retreat and reflection. By contrast, The Woods represents a wilderness experience of another sort: a wild and shadowy place where both the boogieman and the big, bad wolf reside. This exhibition explores the curious territory between reality and the supernatural, between the primal and the paranormal. It is in the woods where our deepest fears and unmitigated imagination collide. This immersive installation featured numerous projections, extensive time-based lighting effects, a soundtrack, Sasquatch and a deep narrative and story rooted in Pacific Northwest paranormal.

Hit and Run

PUNCH Gallery, Seattle WA

July 2016

Project Link

We closed the doors on our Seattle gallery in the summer of 2016 and turned our attention home to the rural communities of central Washington. Embracing our inner country-tendencies, we visited the local auto wrecking yard, purchased a 1986 Pontiac Firebird, souped it up so that it was demolition derby-ready, and then went about devising what kind of sleight of hand would be necessary to get it into our gallery space (through a regular person-sized door). In addition to this crash course into automotive deconstruction, we also teamed up with Darren Scott, a seasoned demolition driver, to participate in the 42nd Annual Goldendale Jaycees Car and Truck Demolition Derby. Under his tutelage, we gained invaluable tactical insight into how one can make it through a derby not only alive, but also victorious. That’s right, we brought home a trophy!

We started with a 1980s Pontiac Firebird pulled from a central Washington junkyard, cut it into pieces, and then rebuilt the whole thing inside the gallery. To complete the scene, we sourced props and accessories from Eastside Automotive in Ellensburg. The installation also featured time-based lighting and sound.

Additional Projects

Miscellaneous Venues

2007-2020

Much of our work is rooted in creating immersive narratives that explore the urban rural dichotomy and engage in rural activities vicariously through our art making. The following projects include story-lines ranging from drinking Busch Beer in a solitary cabin, to performing classic country tracks in a honkytonk bar. Each project in this grouping demonstrates a process completed on very short timelines (typically 2-3 days) and small, scrappy budgets. Materials are often sourced from fields of central Washington, reclaimed and recontextualized to bring the viewer into the narrative, allowing them to explore and engage with the rural surroundings we call home.

Thank you for your consideration!

We are happy to answer any questions that may come up, feel free to reach out to [email protected]. Final size, dimensions, budget and timeline would be dependent on final design in response to Cannonball Arts availability regarding space and schedule.

PUNCH is a five-member collective that has been making art and building community together since 2006 and includes:

Renee Adams
Howard Barlow
Justin Beckman
Will Bow
Justin Gibbens