Efrat Shalem’s artwork consists of four photographs and video footage of suburban America. Shalem’s video is prominently featured in a darkened room within the gallery; the space is entirely empty except for one video projector and the video footage broadcast onto a white wall. Shot while Shalem was driving through suburban neighborhoods, the video captures a piece of “normal” American life. The piece both validates and critiques suburban culture as it reveals the ordinary and repetitious nature of this lifestyle while also capturing objects reminiscent of pleasure and joy, such as a child’s play-pool left on the front lawn on a sunny day.

- DH