Disclosure: Zachariah Yeh is a photographer for the Free Press.
With just 168 hours to transform an idea into reality, artists turned pressure into possibility at the aptly named 168 Hour Art Festival. Organized by student-run group Exile, the event invited artists to transform a single word prompt into finished pieces in just one week. On Friday, Oct. 25 at 3:30 p.m., the exhibition — housed in room 606 of the University Center — opened its doors, welcoming viewers eager to see what artists could conceive under such a tight deadline. Attendees were not just spectators, they were also given the opportunity to vote for their favorite piece, with a winner announced at the end of the night.
Stepping into the room, attendees were greeted by an eclectic array of artworks in every medium imaginable. A platform at the center of the space displayed two striking garments — a corset and a dress — set alongside an acrylic painting on a makeshift stand made of cardboard. The rest of the room was alive with creativity: sculptures, light fixtures, and photographs lined the walls and tables, showcasing the artists’ diverse interpretations of the prompt.
Jake Custodio, president of Exile, described the motivation behind the event. “[It’s a chance] to view, appreciate, and celebrate each other’s work outside of the classroom. … It shows people that you don’t need too much time to make something that’s really inspirational and impressive.” This sentiment was echoed by Spencer Mazzala, vice president of Exile. “To make sure people produced unique pieces of art, each person got a prompt, an adjective, and they had to make their art out of that,” Mazzala explained. There were about 50 different adjectives that artists chose at random, all equally provoking in various ways. Inevitable, lush, incandescent, and isolation were a few among the 50.
Exile team member and artist Zachariah Yeh, who is also a photographer for The New School Free Press, described the group’s spirit as a “silly place where we could come and make art that does not have any stake to it. There’s no grade behind it. We just see it. We just have fun.” Yeh had submitted a photograph for the exhibition earlier that morning, using the prompt word “contemplative.” The image captures his silhouette from behind, set against a long-exposure view of the NYC skyline under a blue sky. “This is the most physically exposed I have ever been taken,” Yeh said in reflection of his work.
Other pieces embraced a more playful tone — an acrylic portrait featuring the words “pretty please” at the bottom depicted none other than president of Exile, Jake Custodio. The prompt word? “Grotesque.” The piece was created by Communication Design major Jonas Parker as a playful response after Custodio asked the artist if they had submitted anything yet. With a laugh, Mazzala remarked that “[Custodio] was talking about how each work of art is really beautiful and unique, and then it’s just his face with the word ‘grotesque.’ That’s really fun.”
In contrast, some artists chose heavier themes. Dhriti Chakravarty, a first-year fine arts major at Parsons School of Design, explored acute illness in her painting to reflect her prompt, the word “acute.” Her piece depicts a human body with a pig-shaped balloon hovering over its neck, while a hand is poised to pop it. “I deliberately made it disturbing to give the impression that acute diseases, their severity, can be really disturbing and destructive,” Chakravarty said.
Light Haynes, second-year student at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, took a different approach, moving beyond canvas to create a mixed-media piece in response to the word “imposing.” His work, featuring a large window with surreal figures peering out, explored how abstract thoughts could impose on reality. The image extends beyond the edges of the canvas onto the cardboard, which acts as both a frame and a continuation of the piece. “It was very interesting to try and get an idea in that crunch time,” Haynes said.
On a nearby table, a small air-dry clay sculpture of a candle made by visual studies student Lily Jonsson portrayed a quieter, more intimate take on her prompt, “futile.” Made with clay and acrylic paint, and with eyes crafted from gel nail polish, the piece had a powerful presence despite its delicate features. “I think it’s probably the tiniest thing here,” Jonsson shared with a smile. “It was a little intimidating when I first came in and saw all the big things … but I’m proud of it. I think it’s cute.”
One of the exhibition’s winners was Enkhjin Batbold, a first-year fashion design student at Parsons, who responded to the word “ephemeral” with an innovative and stunning fashion piece. Her intricately crafted corset, made with wire, tweed, and foam clay, was adorned with natural elements: eucalyptus, moss, and baby’s breath. “We often try to capture these really beautiful things, but most of the time they don’t last,” Batbold said, speaking to nature’s transient beauty. Batbold drew from the idea that beauty often comes paired with a defense mechanism — like the thorns of a rose or a butterfly’s protective patterns — adding wire thorns to her design that hung on the corset like natural armor. While the corset itself is a breathtaking piece, she acknowledged its fleeting nature, stating, “It’s also not gonna last, but I think that’s something that challenged me as well.”
The festival saw a tie for first place, with fine arts student Sebastian Guerrero’s piece, titled “Fake Crystal,” sharing the spotlight with Batbold. Responding to the prompt word “false,” Guerrero crafted the piece using clear resin, agar glycerin, plexiglass, and metal, all mounted on glass engraved with the SpaceX logo — blending the organic with the industrial.
Exile’s commitment to fostering creativity and community among artists was evident at Friday’s 168 Hour Art Festival. Exile President Custodio emphasized that the group aims to provide “little moments of levity and engagement” amid the stresses of academic life, creating a space for members to escape and explore their personal creativity. This exhibition not only encouraged participants to alleviate their artistic boundaries, it celebrated and reinforced Exile’s mission of being a welcoming refuge for those seeking inspiration and connection through art.