In her newest body of work I am in no place., artist Gigi Salij explores classic Indianapolis landmarks and helps us discover something new and unfamiliar within them. These pieces explore how signs are a significant part of our everyday lives, yet we don’t often recognize them as such. Signs are so ubiquitous that they often fade into the background. With this show, Salij reimagines and reinterprets signs belonging to long-time Indianapolis institutions. This exhibition sparks nostalgia and celebrates places that have been significant in the city of Indianapolis.

Salij works primarily with screen printing and collage but has recently ventured into watercolor. This show consists of screenprints of well-known and loved signs found throughout Indianapolis. “Each of these pieces are inspired by a real sign or logotype” Salij states. Salij uses these signs “as a springboard to a different set of thoughts.” BBQ Heaven is one such example. The way the image is cropped leaves a vastly unoccupied blue space while the type peaks from the bottom of the paper. “The idea,” Salij says, is that “there is an implication about heaven hence creating a visual pun.”

Bar B Q Heaven
screenprint with watercolor
22” x 30”

Each piece of Salij’s work tackles a different sign, diving into the meaning of the words and images displayed upon them. The pieces provoke thoughts of time, space, and physical architecture. “What I love about the city of Indianapolis is the co-existence of the city of the past and the city of the present.” Indianapolis’ signs act as a tether between these two passages of time. For Gigi, this body of work stirred contemplation of the lives of these signs and the communities surrounding them. She asks, “what was it like to be in the presence of these signs when they were once brand new?” Salij’s work walks the line between nostalgia for familiar places and the excitement of novelty.

These signs were taken from their familiar dwelling and represented in a new space. The depictions are from angles and perspectives that make them slightly unfamiliar. For many, Long's Bakery is an Indianapolis staple. Seeing this familiar sign in a new and compelling way brought people back to a nostalgic and familiar place. Salij draws inspiration from artists such as Edward Rucha. Rucha’s work Standard Station inspires the composition of her piece Steer Inn. She is interested in how the work corresponds and adapts to physical architecture. The Steer Inn building is constructed in such a way that it is difficult to photograph the entirety of the building, therefore leaving exciting possibilities for representing and interpreting it.

With this body of work, Salij hopes that people will see familiar sights in new ways. I am in no place. is on display throughout May in the City Gallery at the Harrison Center. Stop by to view it in person or visit the online gallery.