Andrew Ellis Johnson’s vision and practice is, like the ice, full of layers, fissures, and chasms that shift between easy access and the impenetrable. An instrument to negotiate between the two is the antique ice pick that has been violently stuck into the wall bearing the installation’s title, Democracy on Ice, a prescient or summary signal upon entry and exit. The pick reminds us of the Situationist philippic: “Flee, but while fleeing, pick up a weapon!” While it may seem immediately destructive, like the blade of the skate, the pick’s meaning is double-edged. Its minute point can crack a huge mass, suggesting the power of the individual. Yet, the multiple fragments the pick creates may also suggest strength in numbers, our power to collectively strike back, to challenge domination and to come to grips with the brittle barrier to freedom. We must literally break the ice.

– Gary Nickard