This work explores alternatives to established systems of communication, knowledge, and economy. We consider what happens when highly developed cultural systems, such as televised media, break down or re-form whether by their own weight or an act of subversion. Aberrations and alternatives instigate redefined relationships to culture.

Through our use of media artifacts and video production techniques, we question the role of media participants. Our references to the ever-expanding culture of moving images explore the blurring demarcations between media production, consumption, and spectacle. When everyone can be everything in a media cycle, we are increasingly faced with the possibility of participation and the potential for accountability.


Artists Eric Mercer and Katie Waugh are currently based in Chicago. Although their studio practices have evolved together for a number of years, OffSet marks the couple’s first joint exhibition. Both explore themes of identity, conformity, and the social implications of information. Eric is from Northern Ontario, Canada, and earned an M.A. in Sculpture at the Savannah College of Art and Design – Atlanta in 2008. Eric is currently Artist in Residence at Lillstreet Art Center (Chicago), where he also teaches, and recently completed a residency at Ox-Bow Professional Artists Residency. Katie was born in Wisconsin. Next year she will finish her MFA in Fiber and Material Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, after having also earned an MA from SCAD-Atlanta in 2008. In September she will be opening the exhibition season at SUGs, Chicago. Since 2006, Eric and Katie have participated in solo and group exhibitions in Atlanta, Chicago, and Iowa.