Olivia Robinson has taken over the Grizzly Grizzly collective through the month of March for her solo show “Concatenation.” The white-walled space of the Grizzly gallery is subsequently transformed into an immersive installation in which Robinson, as the show’s name implies, pieces together a singular experience from a number of divergent elements.

A room view of the installation “Concatenation” by Olivia Robinson.

Really, there are two specific bodies of work from which Robinson draws the wall coverings which line just about every vertical surface in the room. First is her series “Alchemy & Meditations” that, by area, is the much smaller segment of the exhibit – but size is certainly not everything. These pieces depict a variety of geometric patterns contained within circles and jump out as points within these shapes shine with LED light. Each has its own distinct configuration ranging from only one light to dozens of tiny glowing points. The patterns themselves include starbursts, spirals, bisected circles, and motifs which appear to be woven together. While many of these are symmetrical, a few look more like chaotic games of pickup sticks, with overlapping lines skewed in seemingly random directions. All of the lights are powered by unseen strands of copper wire, not unlike the interconnected tree of life or the vast web through which you are currently reading this article.

One of the mandala-like patterns riddled with LED lights.

The bulk of the show, however, is composed of Robinson’s series of “Context Posters.” More than 100 of these text-based signs hang in this exhibit, barraging unwitting visitors with a wall of words. Many of these poster-like proclamations contain three lines of content, but some include only one. Of the many variations are individual words such as “LABOR,” “POWER” or “SWEAT,” while the longer versions mix and match concepts, creating aleatoric and poetic expositions such as “GREAT LATHER UPON,” “FUTURE MANKIND INDUSTRIAL,” and “SEA ALWAYS KNOWLEDGE,” to include just a few. These mixed and matched phrases, while inherently meaningless in their present form, do well to trick the brain into constructing meanings on its own accord. The human mind is a pattern and order-loving machine, so in a setting of networked lights and mandala forms atop nebulous wordplay, the brain acts accordingly and begins to navigate this ocean of ideas on its own; even a short time in this room leaves the viewer with a lot to ponder.

The lone video that rounds out and encapsulates the process of Olivia Robinson’s “Concatenation.”

Only one piece in this show steps out of line with the other two themes, and this is a video portrait of a seated woman in a white dress. At first, nothing seems off at all, but slowly her image begins to change. Tiny dots start to appear on the skin of her exposed arms, neck and face, but they are not any type of affliction. Instead, these specks more resemble bits of confetti or glitter and mimic the growth of naturally occurring crystals. Like the effect of the installation on those inside, these bits of material creep onto the figure similar to the way these ideas and stimuli burrow their way into the subconscious.

There is only the upcoming weekend to experience this introspective jaunt by Olivia Robinson, so make sure to stop by the Grizzly Grizzly space before March 30.

Grizzly Grizzly is located at 319 N. 11th St., Philadelphia, on the second floor; [email protected]; www.grizzlygrizzly.com.