INDEX.
INDEX. celebrates the student work from the ‘25 - ‘26 school year in Mebane Gallery by creating an exhibition that fosters embodied experience. After a year of creating images and abstractions, the exhibit grounds student work in a field of the real. The work is experienced as sacred and not as spectacle. Instead of overwhelming sensory stimulation, work is presented calmly and confidently.
INDEX. activates architecture. During final reviews, Mebane Gallery becomes a forgotten space. After final reviews the large partition walls are removed and a deep ceremonial cleansing takes place. The smell of wood, a glow of warm light and the uninterrupted volume of open space transforms Mebane into a place for students to become embodied again; to remember that the world is real.
INDEX. transforms the gallery into a place for reflection and contemplation. Images are not displayed in a traditional vertical orientation but horizontally, to be experienced as a book. Models and objects are placed across a series of pedestals at varying heights. On the north wall, a slideshow slowly rolls through a comprehensive inventory of images. Work is organized alphabetically across the twelve altars and models with name cards alongside them can be used to cross reference with the books. Four benches on either end of the room provide space for viewing and to simply experience the space.
INDEX. adapts and reuses. High quality Douglas fir plywood components arrive ready for assembly in the gallery. Pocket-hole joinery conceals fasteners, allows for disassembly, and keeps the A-face clean for future use. Altars and pedestals have been designed for maximum yield from 4’x8’ sheets and can be adapted for specific curatorial needs. Component sizes are substantial enough to be repurposed for future use in exhibitions, student work, and facility work.
About the Exhibitions Designers
Jeremy Atticus Smith is a 3rd year M. Arch student from Texas. Before attending UTSOA he worked in construction and fabrication for 8 years. At UTSOA he's worked in the Build Lab, Tech Lab, as a TA for Environmental Controls with Adam Pyrek, Architecture and Society with Larry Speck, and as Student Technician and TA for Wood Design with Mark Macek. He has also served as an editor for Issue and as an inaugural member of the M.Arch Collective. Upon graduating he intends to move to New York to pursue licensure and live with his partner.
Evan Altenburg is an artist and designer from Minneapolis, MN. He is in his final semester of the M.Arch program and graduates Spring, 2026. He's worked in the Build-Lab as a head student technician, a TA for Wood Design with Mark Macek, and as a student liaison and fabricator for Barkow Leibinger's 2024 Exhibition, American A-Frame in the Mebane Gallery. He holds a BFA in graphic design and interactive media from University of Wisconsin-Stout. He currently works in woodworking and fabrication for Oxford Street Design. He lives with his partner and dog in East Austin.
