Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe, Black Acid Co-op installation view via Deitch Projects
Until August 15, “Black Acid Co-op,†a collaboration between New York artists Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe, transforms Deitch Projects’ SoHo space into a series of interconnected room-size installations, creating a walk-in simulation of the grungy interior of a house whose occupants have been producing crystal methamphetamine. After signing a liability waiver, visitors penetrate into a warren-like series of rooms and corridors, ranging from a greenhouse, a charred kitchen, or a Chinatown variety store, that give off a strong vibe of decrepitude and paranoia. In this labor-intensive and highly-detailed project, Freeman and Lowe transform medicine into meth, detritus into art, gallery space into drug den.
Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe, Black Acid Co-op installation view via Deitch Projects
Related Links:
Exhibition Page [Deitch Projects]
Down a Rabbit Hole to Meth and its Dysfunction [NY Times]
Acid House [Artforum]
“Black Acid Co-op†at Deitch Projects [Vogue.com]
Each room is related to the theme of alchemy, the transformation of matter from one form to another. This is most apparent in the dilapidated crystal meth lab, stocked with ingredients and materials that are used to produce the highly combustible drug – cold medicine, matches, glass jugs and beakers, hot plates and acid. Traces of meth-lab meltdowns are visible everywhere, from the singed and burned furniture and plyboard walls, to the charred remains of a previous kitchen, destroyed by a meth-making explosion. Alchemy is also referenced in Freeman and Lowe’s frequent references to astrology – alchemy and astrology are thought to complement each other in the search for hidden knowledge.
Judah Freeman and Justin Lowe, Black Acid Co-op installation view via Deitch Projects
Alchemy also refers to the process by which paradoxical results are achieved, or incompatible elements are combined with no obvious rational explanation, which explains the disconnect between the series of rooms. At one point, visitors crawl through a hole punched in a wall to find themselves in a formal gallery space, complete with plush red velvet carpeting. On the top floor of the gallery, up a narrow staircase, is a wooden pantry, with shelves lined with jars filled with a murky liquid, containing books, feathers, cacti, or a telephone cord. In one corner, a couple of stuffed dogs are sleeping.
Judah Freeman and Justin Lowe, Black Acid Co-op installation view via Deitch Projects
Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe, Black Acid Co-op installation view via Deitch Projects
“Black Acid Co-op†is the third incarnation of Justin Lowe and Jonah Freeman’s collaboration.  Along with Alexandre Singh, they began the cycle of work with a commissioned installation called “Hello Meth Lab In The Sun” at Ballroom Marfa, an alternative space in Marfa, Texas. Later that year, the work was slightly modified and transplanted to Art Basel Miami 2008, where it was installed in a condo-project under contstruction and became a sort of sleeper hit and generated a good amount of buzz and traffic. It was in Miami that Jeffrey Deitch viewed the installation and began the process of bringing it to his gallery in New York.  In the wake of controversial New York artist Dash Snow’s death from an overdose on July 14th, Black Acid Co-op takes on an additional poignancy, raising questions about the significance of drug culture as an artistic subject.
Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe, Black Acid Co-op Installation View via NY Times
Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe, Black Acid Co-op installation view via NY Times
Black Acid Co-op poster via Deitch Projects
– Madeleine Compagnon
