Interview with April Webb

April Webb
Optimal Delusion
July 6-28, 2024
By highlighting gender inequity in domestic and unpaid labor, Optimal Delusion questions established notions of value. By connecting perceived patterns, Webb maps domestic labor, making new connections with each install, by responding to the limitations of space. A THREE-PART DISSECTION OF THE RUG THAT I SWEEP THINGS UNDER, MAP MOP, and THE DEVIL AND GOD ARE BOTH IN THE DETAILS, are a series of drawings on disposable mop pads. The patterns and pads are connected both physically and visually, elevating their importance through repetition. SCROLL highlights the fragility of these connections using perforated wet wipes. DREAM CATCHER accentuates patterns of dust on air filters by celebrating the work it takes to remain invisible. Lastly, FE MINI START and BUT THAT’S NONE OF MY BUSINESS are dryer lint fire starters which use grid patterning and the bundt cake form to suggest femininity and class, which is reinforced by organization and hierarchy.
Hillyer is funded in part by @thedcarts, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the Galena Yorktown Foundation, and the Jon and Mary Shirley Foundation.