In the OJAC Cell Series

Joshua Hagler

Nihil II / Nor the Moon in its Water

 Joshua Hagler’s Nihil II / Nor the Moon in its Water, is the second in an ongoing series of exhibitions informed by imagery inspired by the artist’s visual encounters while traveling in New Mexico as well as childhood memories related to the loss of a younger brother. For this Nihil iteration, Hagler duplicates his drawings and sculptures, and then presents the versions within the two cells of the OJAC's jail structure. As a result, each becomes a shadow or reflection of the other. Hagler states that “one could think of the installation as two exhibitions—one as the deteriorating memory, or a dampened echo of the other.” He admits that any specific meaning in the work is of less importance than what is experienced during its making and also when it is viewed.

The 2024 Cell Series of exhibitions is generously supported by Paula & Parker Jameson and the McGinnis Family Fund of Communities Foundation of Texas with additional funding from Jay & Barbra Clack, Kathy Webster in memory of Charles H. Webster, and Dr. Larry Wolz. 

JOSHUA HAGLER, Dance Hall I, 2018 – 2023, graphite, charcoal, oil, pastel, wax on found student whiteboard. Courtesy of the artist and Cris Worley Fine Arts, Dallas, TX.


JOSHUA HAGLER, Dance Hall II, 1981-2023, graphite, charcoal, wax on found Baptist instruction book page. Courtesy of the artist and Cris Worley Fine Arts, Dallas, TX.