Visual Arts Picks

DISLOCATOR

The beauty of Randy Moss' "interactive video and sound installation," is that it isn't just affected by the viewer—it incorporates the viewer. Moss has transformed the space into a dark, intimate incubator. A resonant hum and rhythmic swishing envelop you on entering. Projected on a screen, translucent white orbs glide upward like celestial cells, making the room feel weightless. As you approach the screen, a red circle appears and rises the closer you get, the orbs begin to concentrate and multiply, finally resolving into a relatively still denouement. During this final stage of your approach, as you stand just a couple feet from the screen, the swishing sound silences and the hum deepens into a sonorous drone. The orbs vanish, replaced by a ring of glowing dots that envelop the red circle. With some willing suspension of disbelief, you may find and lose yourself inside this glowing, otherworldly embrace. Jack Straw New Media Gallery, 4261 Roosevelt Way NE, 206-634-0919, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri. ELISE RICHMAN

Sure, Mona Superhero's choice of materials is gimmicky: The Portland-based artist uses colored duct tape to create wildly-colored hipster paintings. But we'll forgive her because the work is so damn accomplished. Inspired by the psychedelic rock posters of the '60s and '70s, these pieces are sexy, brash, and surreal. This isn't just about short shorts, hightop roller skates, mirrored sunglasses and other 70s Show nostalgia (although there's plenty of that). Some of the images explode into mandalas of pure color candy; others are surprisingly tender: In Storm Paula an alabaster-white woman is laid to rest on the bottom of an undersea garden. Death lurks everywhere in these orgasms of color, but the girls triumph over all in the end. In King Queen Pain a svelte starlet holds her own against an onslaught of tigers and snarling fighter planes. Above is "Fireballs of Freedom." Opening Reception: 6 p.m.-10 p.m. Fri. Apr. 9. Roq La Rue, 2316 Second Ave., 206-374-8977. 2 p.m.-6 p.m. Tues.-Sat., noon-4 p.m. Sun. ANDREW ENGELSON

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