California Biennial 2025: Desperate, Scared, But Social
Exhibition featuring 12 artists and collectives exploring youth subculture and riot grrrl feminist punk movement at UCI Langson OCMA.
The UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) presents "California Biennial 2025: Desperate, Scared, But Social," an exhibition that takes its name from Emily's Sassy Lime's 1995 debut album. This significant show focuses on youth subculture and explores the complex feelings of late adolescence and early adulthood while presenting instances of hope and inspiration. The exhibition is organized across OCMA's Special Exhibitions and Permanent Collection pavilions, featuring 12 artists and collectives. The show includes photographs, letters, concert footage, and archival zines from Emily's Sassy Lime's career, demonstrating the substantial impact the riot grrrl feminist punk movement had on women throughout Orange County and beyond. The exhibition highlights the importance of archival work and DIY culture, particularly zines—self-published booklets or DIY photocopied pamphlets that were integral to the 1990s riot grrrl feminist punk movement. Young women adopted this medium to share music reviews, political ideas, and personal stories. The show features work from the iconic punk band Emily's Sassy Lime, whose members met as teens in Irvine in the early 1990s and created their own manifesto, GUSTO (Gorilla Union of Sinister Teenage Opportunist). The exhibition celebrates how these artists were resourceful as children of immigrants, repurposing materials and creating impactful work. A notable installation includes a large pink clamshell bed sculpture inspired by a real-life bed seen on tour in Nebraska. The museum offered interactive programming including a Zine Cave pop-up zine-making workshop from New-York-based art publisher Some Other Books, providing attendees the opportunity to create their own zines. An artist talk featuring feminist icon Kathleen Hanna, founder and front woman of Bikini Kill, discussed her influence on the emerging artists and the broader riot grrrl movement.