Selva is a platform of expression that exists in the heart of Brooklyn, a space where communities connect across borders and whose mission has been to produce relevant exhibitions showcasing audio and visual practices while also providing a space for dialogue between first generation immigrants, Latin American creators, native New Yorkers and anyone working at the crossroads of audio and visual art.
Coming from DIY Punk, we understand the importance of images for music and music for visual artists, we work on the many intersections between both practices. Julia Gorton’s work has influenced me for longer than I can remember. The downtown NYC / No-Wave Post-Punk scene portraits helped shape a culture identity and are an important beautiful documentation of that period.
Showing her work and ideas has been a privilege and helped our space to set clear what our core mission is.
LUCAS CABU
I’ve never lived In Brooklyn. I moved directly to New Jersey from a loft in lower Manhattan which had housed a fairly well-known roster of people, including Cindy Sherman, Robert Longo, Thurston Moore, JD King, The Ludacer Brothers, Gretchen Bender, Kathryn Bigelow and Fabian Baron - they all lived amongst us regulars on eight floors of an old tobacco warehouse on South Street. We moved to NJ after the birth of our second child, I just could not take walking up six flights of stairs with a stroller, a baby and a child - anymore. We got a house, a car and had another child. Life was busy and mainly good, but culturally there was a gap that I found hard to bridge.
My trips to Bushwich to shoot this series of photos was often in the back of a car for hire and I had a lot of time to think. How could NJ be so geographically close yet so culturally different? Why is the NJ TRANSIT schedule so terrible? Who will show up today? What do people take away from these portrait sessions? Should I continue with this project?
At least I know the answer to the last question, yes!.
JULIA GORTON
09.29.24, 10.02.24, 10.04.24, 10.06.24
