A new nightmarish exhibition is hanging at the Dollhaus II art gallery in Bayonne.
SlaughterDK brought the house down at the opening reception of his month-long show on Friday, October 7, entitled “Fever Dreams.” Normally exhibiting in Union City and the North Hudson area, this is his first show in Bayonne.
This is also the first art exhibit at the outsider art gallery at 23 Cottage Street after it was awarded a certificate from the Zoning Board to remain open at that address. The last show before this was “GLAMONSTERS” by Brian “Soigné” Wilson which ended in August, so many attendees were excited to be back, and were dressed to kill.
Since it was October, the reception featured a festive pre-Halloween dance party. Attendees dressed in their best costumes to celebrate the official reopening of the gallery.
SlaughterDK, a multi-disciplinary artist, transformed the space into a feverish dreamscape installation featuring drawings, paintings, sculptures, lollipops, and clowns. He also decorated the signature mannequins inside the gallery to match the show, with some hanging from the ceiling to accentuate things.
At the opening, SlaughterDK appeared in full clown drag, the perfect compliment to his feverish and haunting art exhibit.
Dressed in white from head to toe, he was the perfect opposite to performance artist Iggy Berlin, a regular at the Dollhaus II who had donned all black garments.
DJ Ojrd Dwee provided the soundtrack for the reception until the musical performances began by Iggy Berlin followed by alternative rock musician Foresaken Garden.
In addition, refreshments and “Fever Dreams”-themed cupcakes by artist and baketress Bee Heim were served.
According to SlaughterDK, Fever Dreams is an ode to Sigmund Freud’s 1919 essay on the uncanny.
“A fever dream is strangely beautiful and familiar visual that your body experiences during its physically lowest point,” SlaughterDK said.
“It is simultaneous sweats and shivers that lead you down a rabbit hole into another dimension of familiarity,” he continued. “This visual vocabulary relies on strange awareness of fantastical, horrifying, and nonsensical ideas that reside in our subconscious.”
SlaughterDK concluded: “According to Freud, ‘the strangely familiar’ is an idea derivative of the uncanny, and is a main theme when analyzing the psychology behind early horror films throughout the Hays Code Era.”
At the conclusion of the opening reception, SlaughterDK told the Bayonne Community News: “I hope you’re scared.”
The exhibit is on display until Sunday, November 6. Gallery hours are Fridays from 2 to 9 p.m., Saturdays from 2 to 6 p.m., and Sundays from 2 to 9 p.m.
For more information, go to xdollhausx.com or check social media pages @dollhaus2. For more information about SlaughterDK, go to slaughterdkart.wixsite.com/kevinzeledon or follow him on social media @slaughterdk.
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.
