Winnie-the-Pooh author A.A. Milne’s essay “Goldfish” provides the only sliver of context for Richard Harrod’s solo show “Bad for the Goldfish” at Marginal Utility. If aesthetically pleasant, easy to understand artwork is your preference, then perhaps this exhibit is not for you. On the other hand, if you’re willing to trudge through the mud a bit, the vexing objects on display here might have something to say. What that something is, is anyone’s guess.

Milne’s short text begins with an invitation to discussion. After the open-ended prompt, Milne immediately recommends that the topic be goldfish, and proceeds to go about dissecting the plight of the domesticated orange fish and its theoretical life outside of the bowl. He concludes that, instead of the ‘old world tranquility’ or ‘Victorian futility’ the little orange pet may conjure up, the goldfish is indeed contemporary. From this point of written departure – a peculiar, almost trivial series of observations – we may find some beacons to guide us through an equally peculiar body of visual work.

An air conditioner dangles in its case.

Just inside the door, we find a Plexiglas case with a circular hole cut in its top center. Through this opening, a single cable suspends a window air conditioning unit above a square of foam, from which wires protrude upward through stacks of Cheerios. The nearby wall contains photographs of similar breakfast cereal scenes, some of the wires bent into stick figures, some of the Cheerios apparently burnt to a crisp.

Anthropomorphic Cheerios.

This entire assortment reads like something of convenience. Fortified cereals and air conditioners are all but the epitome of everyday comfort, and the battling oat rings seem intent on redistributing the wealth of this easygoing lifestyle. And that is an attempt at not reading too far into things. At face value, the physical comedy of the slowly spinning air conditioner and stacks of whole grain morsels is sufficient. Cheerios and air conditioners are contemporary.

A poorly replicated air conditioner and a faux ice cream sandwich.

Elsewhere, we find another (fake) air conditioner encased in transparent plastic and topped with half of a (fake) ice cream sandwich. The shoddily printed reproduction wouldn’t fool anyone, and its mirrored top doubles the black and white sandwich lookalike to appear whole. The exterior of such a machine, though, would certainly be much warmer than the air it is designed to cool, leaving the frozen treat in jeopardy… unless the viral videos about un-meltable ice cream sandwiches hold any water. Ice cream sandwiches are contemporary.

Sailing the Styrofoam sea.

A stack of Styrofoam chunks on one wall looks entirely unremarkable, except for the billowing clouds of cotton issuing forth from their topmost layer. Upon closer inspection, a tiny Styrofoam boat is the source of the fluffy steam. This synthetic substance may be an efficient way to pack consumer goods for shipping, but floating in the ocean for thousands of years after its single use isn’t exactly ideal. Styrofoam is contemporary.

Some photos of empty, open boxes.

Let us not forget the photos of empty boxes, miscellaneous bones, and giant collage of a bicycle rolling toward distant yellow mountains below a metallic sky. The fare here is anchored in the forms of our world pieced together in ways that make us ponder if we ever needed these amenities in the first place. Aside from the toxic, the reflective, the indications of movement, the edible, and the vacant, we are left with little else besides ourselves.

Bicycle ride with a metallic sky.

Flotsam and jetsam are bad for goldfish only if they are wild, but let us not forget about the tuna and barracuda as well. Goldfish reap all the benefits of modern life just as much as we do, and in the end, what is bad for them is probably bad for us too. With that in mind, look around at all you can see. Isn’t everything contemporary? “Bad for the Goldfish” will be on display through February 15.

Marginal Utility is located at 319 N. 11th Street, on the 2nd floor, Philadelphia; marginalutility.org