Laura Porter's Surreal Scientific Tutorial at Galerie Allen

Laura Porter's first solo gallery exhibition, 'The Future of Dry' at Galerie Allen, transforms the gallery into a surreal scientific tutorial on fat measurement. The show opens with a vitrine displaying an educational brochure on dietary fat standards, setting an analytical tone. The first installation, 'Poor Man, Good Water,' juxtaposes a faded salmon taffeta curtain and an ivory toothpick with floor elements marked by black mold-like bands, creating dissonance between domestic ritual and scientific measurement. Materials range from EVA foam to Nigella seeds. 'Foam Home' features stacked layers of Nigella seeds, dry beans, foam, cut glass, colored plastic, and mustard seeds, suggesting a hidden logic. A rectangular EVA foam sheet imprinted with bean marks resembles coded language. The final installation, 'Bust,' uses PVC, fabric, ceramic, and plants on carpet to flatten volumes into a 2D effect, accompanied by a video whose soundtrack integrates the work into a single image. The exhibition overall mimics a surreal instructional manual.