@leiminspace is proud to present Laura Soto’s “This Never Happened" for the very first exhibition in the space. The exhibit will showcase Soto’s mixed-media sculptures and objects. Her shimmering, shell-shaped pieces are composed of materials such as concrete, acrylic, resin, plaster, glitter, glue and paper. Each piece represents months of working and reworking-- manual weathering conducted by Soto's hands as well as by natural processes. 

      The title “This Never Happened” alludes to the ephemeral and process-centric nature of Soto’s practice.  Soto describes her objects as relics of a practice in which she exposes the pieces to natural as well as imposed chemical and physical processes. Soto often experiments with the way two materials (e.g. resin and acrylic) interact and set together, chemically. She may also set a piece outdoors for months, unprotected. 

      Soto involves herself completely in the formation of the objects, stating that the pieces become closely tied to certain phases in her life. However, once the process is complete, and the final object has emerged, Laura says, she relates less with the object itself than with the memory of its making. While the beauty of the objects stands alone, it is only more enriched when one learns of its history. The surfaces of the pieces are rich with matter and irregularities, reminiscent of rock formations or archaeological ruins. These objects are echoes of nature’s interaction with matter— they are like treasures from the ocean— coarse, but glistening.