Once, at a party in Prague, I was introduced to a New York-based artist as a fellow New Yorker. He asked me “who I knew” before learning my name, and as I stood in stunned silence he wandered away. Sometimes the cool kids really piss me off. And, frankly, I’ve never really understood the contemporary art cognoscenti’s relentless return to the “trash-tallation.” Since Paul Thek perfected it in the seventies, I’m forced to ask: seriously—is there anything interesting about a room full of all the crap you’ve collected, groceries you’ve purchased, random-ass shit from your studio, etc. etc., other than the too-cool-for-school factor? Well, as it turns out, there just may be. At Société, Trisha Baga has put a new spin on trash, and as “cool” as it is, I kinda sorta really love it. 

And, it certainly seems as though I’m not the only one—Baga has shown at MOMA PS1, The Whitney, Greene Naftali; and now, steps away from the women of the night (and mid-afternoon), she has touched down at Société. According to her website, Trisha “engages the formal languages and concerns of sculpture, painting, cinema, music, photography, comedy and fiction”…and, after visiting “Florida” it’s clear that she is also familiar with the work of Al Gore and the utter awesomeness of Animal House. After all, Baga’s installation at Société​ is perhaps the perfect blend of high and low, trash and treasure, Doritos and Derrida. 

Baga’s notorious blend of video and installation recalls, in this instance, not only the sad-but-true horror of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but also the poignant and utterly perilous search for meaning and momentum in these modern times. Quite honestly, Baga’s work reminds me of Berlin—hooked on cheap beer and disposable lighters yet yearning for something a little brighter, a litter better; and yes, little more sustainable.

And so, I say bring your own beach blanket, brave the bad neighborhood, and settle down with a little slice of modern life at Société​. It doesn’t matter who you know, like the sunshine state itself, there’s a little something here for everyone.

• Société – Trisha Baga "Florida" – April 27 – June 1, Tuesday – Saturday: 12-6pm [Estimated price range of works: 5,000-13,000​ Euros]

Article by Hannah Nelson-Teutsch

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