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OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. O ne of the world's most remarkable ruins is right here in Houston — the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern, a cavernous, 221-columned subterranean space that recalls in scale and dystopian grandeur the epic building schemes of the Roman Empire. Since 2016, it's played host to art installations that move beyond the Instagrammable moment to challenge the viewer in a profound way. The third in these ongoing site-specific exhibitions opened this spring, and it's the most haunting yet. Anri Sala's video/ sound work Time No Longer addresses Houston's industrial/technological/ frontier history, pairing narratives of a space-exploration hero who had a penchant for the saxophone with a composer/Holocaust survivor. It's the most ambitious project to date for the Berlin-based, internationally exhibited Sala — a veteran of prestigious biennials. The 13-minute, continually looping piece speaks to Space Race martyr Ronald McNair (one of the first Black astronauts), whose life tragically ended with the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986 before he could reach the International Space Station and record a long-planned saxophone solo. The abstract soundtrack culls French composer Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, written and debuted in 1941 when Messiaen was incarcerated in a Nazi POW camp, juxtaposing French clarinetist Raphaël Sévère with a sax solo by Hungarian-American composer André Vida. The elegiac piece contrasts CGI-generated imagery of a vintage turntable with a bank of ISS instrument panels. Other collaborators include France-based sound designer Olivier Goinard and lighting designer Patrick Ghiringhelli; project manager Weingarten Art Group (founder Lea Weingarten first encountered Sala's work in 2011 at Serpentine Gallery, London); and patron/BBP board member Judy Nyquist, who helped make this unforgettable installation h a p p e n . T h r o u g h D e c e m b e r 12; tickets, buffalobayou.org. Catherine D. Anspon DEEP SPACE N ot everyone has something to show for the creative endeavors they picked up during the pandemic. Presley Oldham, on the other hand, has an accessories collection that's attracted a cult following of both men and women. The nephew of '90s fashion icon Todd Oldham and son of Dallas sculptor Brad Oldham, Presley comes by his ingenuity honestly. When 2020 drove the aspiring actor/director from L.A. to his grandparents' Santa Fe home, he picked up an old hobby: making jewelry for friends. By May, he'd launched a collection of freshwater pearl and silver necklaces, anklets, and earrings, using sterling silver and pearls left over from his uncle's studio or found at flea markets — a sustainable move straight out of the House of Style Todd Time playbook. Each collection features zero- waste elements, from antique beads to upcycled ceramic stones, recycled glass, and vintage p e a r l n e c k l a c e s . Oldham delights in seeing his jewelry find life outside the studio. "I've been so contained and isolated in New Mexico," he says. "It's nice to see that versatility in action." presleyoldham.com. Caitlin Clark PEARLS ARE A GIRL'S AND BOY'S BEST FRIEND The Oil Slick necklace from Presley Oldham's Summer 2021 collection, $425 Anri Sala Anri Sala's Time No Longer, 2021, on view through December 12 Anri Sala's Time No Longer, 2021, at the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern ALL ANRI SALA IMAGES COURTESY THE ARTIST AND MARIAN GOODMAN GALLERY, © ANRI SALA; PHOTOS BY LAWRENCE KNOX, COURTESY OF BUFFALO BAYOU PARTNERSHIP AND WEINGARTEN ART GROUP. 20