after / time collective gallery is pleased to announce as part of its Winter exhibition programming the second annual iteration of After Image 002 with artist Gina Herrera. With this exploration of environmental consciousness and consumerism the artist engages in the critical discourses of war, environmental degradation and the dominant biopolitics that seek to control media narratives through image. Born from her Tesuque Pueblo and Costa Rican identity and profound experiences of the impacts of warfare, she confronts the monumental issue of discarded detritus, urging viewers to reflect on their role as consumers and the impact of neglected materials on the global ecosystem.

The After Image of war and environmental impacts challenge the viewer's perception of waste and consumerism. Each piece in the collection serves as a container of memories and forgotten materials, highlighting the problematic nature of cycles of violence upon people and land. Herrera's work is a poignant reminder that the seemingly useless and discarded hold untold stories, forming archeologies of failed state-sponsored planning that nevertheless give rise to potential futures.

If image can be construed as that which is used to influence opinion and create closed circles of thinking for the purposes of predetermined narratives, then after image is one domain of art that critiques and offers viable alternatives to the appropriation of image by the state and its proxies. Art can be seen as forms of praxis that propose possible routes of escape beyond image, such that state-sponsored violence, propaganda and thought-control can be eluded and overcome. The work in After Image proposes one possible pathway for us to travel.