Bad Outdoorsman: The Trailer

KATIE HARGRAVE and MEREDITH LAURA LYNN

Runs / Sept 6 to Oct 20, 2024

Reception / Friday, Sept 6 from 6-9 PM

Hours: Sat-Sun from 2-6 PM

This fall, Grizzly Grizzly presents Bad Outdoorsmen: The Trailer, a video and fiber installation by artists Katie Hargrave and Meredith Laura Lynn. This collaborative work introduces the public to the peculiarities of the "Alone" extended universe, drawing comparisons between the absurdity of modern reality television and the complex, often problematic legacy of early conservationists.

As described in The History Channel’s press release for “Alone,” ...with only ten basic survival tools, the participants face bone-chilling cold, icy landscapes, and intimidating predators including bears, wolves, and moose. Participants must forage for their own food, build shelter, and overcome both physical and mental obstacles while self-recording their journey for a chance to be the last person standing and win the coveted $500,000 cash prize. With no teams, no camera crews, and no gimmicks, “Alone” displays the grit of human endurance and is the ultimate test of human will.

In Bad Outdoorsmen, Hargrave and Lynn incorporate tent-like structures and projected videos that merge the world of “Alone” with an examination of 18th and 19th-century environmentalists, artists, and authors such as John James Audubon, William Bartram, and John Muir. While these figures are often celebrated for their contributions to early conservation efforts, the installation also interrogates their darker legacies—particularly their roles in dehumanizing Indigenous populations and promoting imperialist ideologies like manifest destiny.

Bad Outdoorsmen: The Trailer exposes a continuity of hubris that stretches from the colonialist visions of the past to the present-day survivalist fantasies. Hargrave and Lynn place themselves within this extended universe, questioning the myth of the untouched wilderness and the ongoing fetishization of rugged individualism.

Artist Bio:

Katie Hargrave and Meredith Laura Lynn are artists and educators who work collaboratively to explore the historic, cultural, and environmental impacts of so-called public land. Their work has been shown at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (Salt Lake City, UT), Knoxville Museum of Art (Knoxville, TN), Atlanta Contemporary (Atlanta, GA), the Wiregrass Museum of Art (Dothan, AL), Gadsden Museum of Art (Gadsden, AL), amongst others. Their work has been covered in press including Burnaway, Art Papers, Dovetail, Ruckus, and New Art Examiner. Together they have been artists in residence at the Crisp-Ellert Art Museum (St. Augustine, FL) and Signal Fire (Portland, OR). Hargrave and Lynn met at the University of Iowa, where they both earned MFAs. They have been collaborating since 2018 and continue to maintain independent studio practices. Hargrave is an Associate Professor of Art at University of Tennessee Chattanooga and Lynn is an Assistant Professor of Art at Florida State University.