Nancy Baker Cahill, “Seismic”

by Jody Zellen

Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles, California

Continuing to May 24, 2025

Nancy Baker Cahill, “Pia Mater VII,” 2024, archival pigment on silk suspended over an archival pigment print on canvas mounted to Dibond, secured with aluminum magnet slat, 47 X 38”. All images courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles.

Nancy Baker Cahill is a Los Angeles-based media artist known for her immersive installations, films, sculptures, digital photographs and technically complex augmented reality (AR) experiences. She came into prominence with “4th wall,” an augmented reality public art platform that "geolocates dynamic visual content to enhance viewers’ perception of historic places or social situations via immersive art experiences." An illuminating aspect of Baker Cahill's practice is how seamlessly she flows between analogue and digital presentations. Though most of her work is rooted in digital technologies, not all of it requires hardware and software to view, as the multiple series of works the comprise “Seismic” attests.

The digital prints of the “Pia Maters” series combine two layers of imagery, one on silk and the other on canvas. “Distortions” are abstract collages that juxtapose static printed fragments from Baker Cahill's AR creations with drawn renderings and miscellaneous geometric shapes in a range of colors and textures. “Widows” is a series of wall-based sculptures that cluster torn pieces of painted paper. And in the basement we encounter “Slipstream,” a large-scale installation and projection. It contains organically shaped fragments of ripped graphite on paper drawings that appear like arrays of feathers extending across the wall. The effect is that of a living organism that ebbs and flows in sync with the different hues of an animated projection that maps to these sculptural forms.

Nancy Baker Cahill, “Widow III,” 2025, graphite, graphite powder, acrylic, silk, holographic particles, paper, 38 x 39 x 13”.

On a modest-size screen is the short video “Carbon 1” (the first in a series of six) which explores themes of "ecological collapse, digital distortion, and cultural instability" as described by the artist. Here, she films oscillating organically shaped expanses of green that echo a botanical landscape that suddenly morph into twisting flaming tornadoes. Images of water, as well as fire are interrupted by flickering pixels that eventually fill the screen to become digital noise that signifies rampant environmental destruction.   

Nancy Baker Cahill, “Slipstream,” 2025, installation of torn and reassembled drawings, dimensions variable.

Baker Cahill examines topics ranging from ecological concepts and brain functionality, to climate change and ecofeminism. She is a master at creating algorithms that recalibrate natural phenomena and transform them into vivid abstractions. Out of her experiments in VR Baker Cahill redefines how we visualize three-dimensional space. From that digital point of origination she began to tear apart her drawings and fashion them into sculptures, which became models for a new generation of VR. The “Widows” are examples of this process — graphite drawings that become floral assemblages protruding from the wall. Joining together in “Slipstream” they simultaneously become both static and dynamic forms.

Nancy Baker Cahill, “Distortions II,” 2025, graphite, tape, holographic paper, lucite, photographs, AI-generated imagery, paper on aluminum, 24 x 18”.

The seven works that comprise the series “Pia Mater,” named for the delicate innermost layer of membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, are combinations of two vibrant digital prints. Each piece is encased in custom armature where the background image — a pigment print on canvas — is overlaid with an identical image printed on silk. There are subtle differences in the images because of the materials on which they are printed. Slight as they are, these variations express the relationship between tenuous states of being and the delicate, as well as resilient nature of the brain. They convey geological associations in which interlocking colorful planes are at once atmospheric and dreamlike.

The most compelling works here, the “Distortions,” also tend to be the simplest. These intimate collages unify the varied facets of her practice. In them, she cuts apart and reassembles fragments from drawings, AR generated imagery, as well as holographic paper. Though they are analog, they evoke the more dynamic aspects of Baker Cahill's virtual works. The aesthetic range of ”Seismic” follows this dynamic. While sophisticated algorithms and complex concepts drive the work, the pleasure comes from seeing the visual engulf the technological.

Jody Zellen is a LA based writer and artist who creates interactive installations, mobile apps, net art, animations, drawings, paintings, photographs, public art, and artist’s books. Zellen received a BA from Wesleyan University (1983), a MFA from CalArts (1989) and a MPS from NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program (2009). She has exhibited nationally and internationally since 1989. For more information please visit www.jodyzellen.com.