Hole Up represents the current extension of The House Project started in 2005 by artist Eric Araujo while he was living in San Francisco. The House Project is a sculptural social intervention that promotes a dialogical exchange between the artist and disenfranchised members of society. Hole Up refers to the necessity for refuge and protection from the elements whether in time of loss, safety, or just basic necessity and survival. Araujo builds small-scale shelters that are inserted in an urban area with a homeless population. The structures are designed after common architecture found within the host city and are large enough to accommodate an average sized human with minimal possessions. These modest constructions are mostly made of salvaged materials and provide a temporary reprieve from the elements with no expectations for longevity or permanence. They are utilitarian objects that serve to illuminate the notion of stability provided by the image of a house. The intention is to provide impermanent temporary shelter to those in need and hope that they will make a choice to Hole up for the night.

Eric Araujo is a working and teaching artist from New York. He received his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2007. He’s an interdisciplinary artist whose practice extends across all mediums such as sculpture, installation, drawing, painting and digital imaging. Eric’s work has been shown in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the di Rosa Preserve in Napa Valley, the Canzani Center Gallery at Columbus College of Art and Design, and Johannson Projects in Oakland CA. Most recently his work was seen at Present Company in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Eric currently lives and works in Brooklyn.