Some Other Spring
2018
Artist in Residence, Llewellyn Gallery, Alfred State University, NY
This show was greatly influenced by the Thomas Fire that surrounded my home town of Ojai, California and covered it in ash. The burning detritus from homes, forests, animals, lives and memories filled the air and blanketed the ground. We breathed in the event which connected the entire town, not only in mourning, but in a sensory experience. The show aims to capture the subtle beauty of the fleetingness of life. Muted tonal colors of the materials, reference the ash and mud and the wall pieces are hung throughout the gallery as if they are bits of ash that have dispersed around the space. The paper pieces surround the viewer as they navigate their way, adding to the fragility of the work while some slowly fall apart throughout the duration of the show. The time lapse video hints to this deterioration by depicting flowers thawing from blocks of ice, dying as their petals are exposed to the air. Billie Holidays cathartic song, “Some other spring” exemplifies the sense of loss but also the cautious hope for another spring to come.
Annette Heully 