Evidence + Barry McGee

Curator. Consolidated Works, Seattle. March - April 2000

Artists: featuring TWIST / Barry McGee (San Francisco), with Seattle-based artists AMAZE, ANGEL, APPLE, CAUSE-B, EGO, KHAZ, PARS, II SICK, SIRE-ONE

Evidence at Consolidated Works examines the dynamic relationship between street art and institutional space. The exhibition features an early major installation by internationally recognized artist Barry McGee alongside live graffiti created onsite by local artists. AMAZE, ANGEL, APPLE, CAUSE-B, EGO, KHAZ, PARS, II SICK, and SIRE-ONE spray-paint directly onto the gallery walls, activating the space and asserting graffiti as a performative, social practice rooted in community, visibility, and resistance to erasure.

McGee’s immersive installation, originally created for Rice Gallery in Texas, surrounds visitors with his signature characters and objects against a vivid red backdrop. The scale and density of the work immerse viewers within a constructed environment that mirrors the energy and immediacy of urban streetscapes. By juxtaposing McGee’s installation with the local artists’ spontaneous wall interventions, the exhibition highlights the spectrum of graffiti practice—from highly developed studio-based work to raw, on-the-spot mark-making—and challenges traditional distinctions between “fine art” and street culture.

Evidence foregrounds the tension between the street and the gallery without sanitizing either. The show emphasizes the urgency, friction, and vitality of graffiti, offering a rare and honest portrait of a subculture in motion. By situating live graffiti within an institutional context, the exhibition makes visible the creative energy and social commentary often ignored or painted over in public spaces, cementing its role as a landmark moment for the Seattle arts community and beyond.