Parent Company is pleased to announce an upcoming solo exhibition by Kat Chamberlin. Tulip Mania is a reflection on intrinsic value, power dynamics, and the complexities of human relationships.

Kat Chamberlin is known, especially online, for her contrarian perspective that challenges conventional narratives surrounding patriarchy and progressive utopias. Through her work, she delves into the metaphorical landscape of motherhood as an allegory for authoritarian governance. Here boundaries between individuals must be negotiated amidst inherent dependence and economic realities that commodify the value of human interaction. The exhibition explores the labor and economic value of love.

The centerpiece of the exhibition, VICEROY (2024), a thirteen-minute-long film shot in a single take, draws inspiration from John Everett Millais' iconic painting of Ophelia. The film was named after the Viceroy, a type of tulip that became extraordinarily valuable in the speculative tulip market during the Dutch Golden Age. These references intertwine with Chamberlin’s personal experience and the film depicts a game played by the artist and her daughter. The game started during the pandemic lockdown and consisted of Chamberlin mopping the floor with her daughter's hair. This act, a gesture of play and perhaps madness, becomes laden with symbolic significance as the film escalates.

Chamberlin’s materials articulate inherent contradictions. Ephermal tulips are cast in heavy metal and then coated with velvety flocks. The flowers are distorted and take on the menacing form of a club implying a threat of violence. A crown, a symbol of hereditary power, is rendered in fragile glass. The objects confront the tension between power and powerlessness, love and brutality. The work articulates the delicate balance between connection and autonomy, selfishness and selflessness, ultimately asking, what is love worth?

An essay written by Christopher Scott LCSW-R, CGP, a clinical psychoanalyst, was commissioned as part of the exhibition.