“Unknowing the interstice” by Liam Slevin.

Saturday, June 7th was a whirlwind night of artistic shenanigans in Hamtramck, one of the highlights being the opening for, “Unknowing the interstice,” an installation work by Popps Emporium’s current artist-in-resident, Liam Slevin. Native of Ireland, and more recently working out of Berlin, Germany, Slevin created this piece out of his examination of the so-called, “Windsor Hum,” a still-unidentified noise emitting from Zug Island for more than two years now.

Slevin hails from Cork, Ireland, just like the settlers of Detroit’s eponymously-named Corktown neighborhood.

The private ownership of Zug Island has prevented official investigation into the source of the hum, which, according to Slevin, has created noise pollution across international lines, affecting property values in parts of Windsor. He was able to make a recording of the mysterious noise, and it has become the foil for “Unknowing the interstice,” the sculptural portion of which is comprised of a ramshackle shed sliding slowly at an angle into the ground. The shack is lit from within, and puts forth smoke as well as its audial feedback, which prompted more than a few viewers to characterize the noise as that of a house on fire. It is a compelling work, seen to great advantage at dusk, where the interplay of smoke, sound and structure are highly potent.

For fans of the Evil Dead movies, it was a satisfying installation.

Also on display at Popps is “Imperfect Pairs,” a spring fundraising effort for Popps Emporium, that involved many Metro Detroit art celebrities. The show called for artists to create one half of a collaborative piece, which were then paired to make complete works by Popps owner/curators Faina Lerman and Graem Whyte. Artists had no way of knowing what their finished product would look like, and were able to connect pieces by way of a common “conduit”—a circular joint that forms the axis point between the two works.

“Garden” by Mary Fortuna & “Weeble, glow” by Jason Ferguson.

“Rice Cereal” by Kylie Lockwood & “Whatever You Desire” by Teresa Petersen.

“Untitled” by Sioux Trujillo & “Big Todd” by Andrew Kreiger.

The results are fun, spontaneous and surprisingly cohesive-looking, considering the double-blind nature of their construction. Though it seemed to come as no surprise to the contributing artists, who, one and all, held up Lerman and Whyte as the perfect pair to create these imperfect pairings.

Performance artist Brigid Michael was on hand and in character for the “Imperfect Pairs” opening.

The show will run through Saturday, June 14th, giving interested parties a short window to experience the magic!

“Revolution Residue” by Chido Johnson & “Pam” by Michael McGillis.

The perfect pair at Popps Packing: Whyte & Lerman!

Popps Packing: 12138 Saint Aubin, Hamtramck; www.poppspacking.org