Taking place near Brandon Vickerd’s Alouette, a sculpture that transforms aerospace history into an uncanny in moment of reflection, this conversation is an extension of Winteractive, the Downtown Boston Alliance’s public art exhibition. Bringing together Don Eyles, Hamzat Incorporated, and Brandon Vickerd in dialogue, all three of these artists challenge the way we interpret historical and scientific narratives through material practices in distinct ways. With humor, recontextualization, and process-based interventions, these artists will discuss the ability of material choices to shape meaning, question how environmental and social climates impact artistic practice, and if notions of progress can be reframed through cultural transformation.
Join us to learn more about how their distinct practices reshape our understanding of past achievements, interrogate the social and environmental impacts of industrialization, and ask how artists intervene to offer alternative perspectives to socially entrenched mythologies.
Please join us for a panel discussion with Q&A. Light refreshments will be served.
Don Eyles is an artist and retired computer engineer whose work bridges the realms of technology, material transformation, and space exploration. Best known for his critical role in developing onboard software for the Apollo lunar missions, Eyles helped guide the Apollo 11 Lunar Module to the Moon’s surface, shaping one of humanity’s most significant achievements. His artistic practice extends this legacy, repurposing industrial and technological materials to explore themes of exploration, memory, and the interplay between human ingenuity and the unknown. Through his sculptural works and public art projects, Eyles continues to investigate the relationship between precision engineering and creative expression, offering new ways to engage with the history—and future—of discovery.
Hamzat Incorporated is a Nigeria-born artist whose identity is an entanglement of corporate entity, public figure, and private citizen. Naturalized in Massachusetts and currently working in Milton, he earned his BFA in conceptual art from The Cooper Union in New York and his MFA in stone carving from Kyoto Seika University in Kyoto, Japan. The art of being an artist lies at the heart of his practice, which spans sculpture, drawing, and performance. His work has been exhibited locally at Steven Zevitas Gallery in Boston, nationally at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery in California, and internationally at Harlesden High Street Gallery in London.
Brandon Vickerd is a sculptor whose site-specific interventions, public performances and object-based sculptures act as a catalyst for critical thought and engagement with the physical world. Purposely diverse, his studio work straddles the line between high and low culture, acting as a catalyst for critical thought and addressing the failed promise of a modernist future predicated on boundless scientific advancement. Whether through craftsmanship, the creation of spectacle, or humor, the goal of his work is to provoke the viewer into questioning the dominate myth of progress ingrained in Western world views.
Alexandra Paul Zotov is a creative strategist dedicated to advancing civic expression in public spaces by bringing people and culture together through participatory digital and physical initiatives. Her research driven practice creates frameworks for access and collaboration that expand the perception of what the role of culture can be in our everyday lives. With experience across institutions such as the City of Boston, Parrish Art Museum, Creative Time, and Elite Model Management, Zotov crafts innovative programs and policy that amplify the connection and impact between creativity and the public.Â
