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 A river is a metaphor - as Heraclitus wrote, “no
[person] ever steps in the same river twice” - where time changes
ourselves, the world, and our experience of the world. Or, as Maggie
Nelson writes, a river is a blue emotion on which we are carried. In
her case the metaphor is aimed at understanding mortality: “If you
are in love with blue you fill your pouch with stones good for
sucking and head down to the river. Any river will do.” In all
cases, a metaphorical river is a location that carries histories and
emotions in the form of flotsam and jetsam. Inhabiting Rivers,
Unfinishing Circles presents approaches to examining or excavating
histories and emotions, flotsam and jetsam. The works in this
exhibition by Tamara Becerra Valdez, Jordan Hess, and Dakota Mace
explore excavation as a form of research that is specific to the
acts of uncovering and collecting histories, narratives, and
cultural material. The goal of this exhibition is not to present
objective documentation of a particular place, lineage, erasure, or
phenomena but instead to locate that which has spent some time
floating along.
A screening of time-based works at the Lincoln Arts Institute will
accompany the exhibition on September 2, at 9:00pm.
Tamara Becerra Valdez
Born and raised in South Texas, Tamara Becerra Valdez is an artist
who works at the intersection of archives, oral histories, material
studies, and ecology. Tamara's sculptures and relief works require
slow, meticulous processes of hand fabrication and technique. She
frequently works with discarded materials to comment on legacy and
loss, from family histories to ecological devastation. Tamara holds
an MFA from the University of Illinois Chicago. She is also an avid
gardener, seed saver, and environmentalist.
Jordan Hess
Jordan Hess currently lives and works in New Orleans. Since moving
to Louisiana in 2018, Hess has focused on the Mississippi River
landscape as a source of inspiration and materials for his
sculptures and installations.
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He spends his time walking along the levees collecting discarded
consumer products, bones, sediment, and anything that finds its way into the
river to incorporate into the work. Hess’ overall work explores and questions
ideas of value and preciousness, while simultaneously emphasizing the human
impact on the river and landscape beyond.
Dakota Mace
Dakota Mace (Diné) is an interdisciplinary artist whose work focuses on
translating the language of Diné history and beliefs. Mace received her MA and
MFA degrees in Photography and Textile Design at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison and her BFA in Photography from the Institute of American
Indian Arts. As a Diné (Navajo) artist, her work draws from the history of her
Diné heritage, exploring the themes of family lineage, community, and identity.
In addition, her work pushes the viewer's understanding of Diné culture through
alternative photography techniques, weaving, beadwork, and papermaking.
Inhabiting Rivers, Unfinishing Circles is curated by Lease Agreement. Lease
Agreement is an artist-run and nomadic curatorial project directed by Adam
Farcus. The gallery programming continues in the tradition of alternative art
spaces by organizing conceptually rigorous, engaging work for exhibitions,
screenings, performances, and art events.
This exhibit will be open to the public every Friday 5pm-8pm, Saturdays 10am-1pm
until September 3rd.
[Text provided by Marcia Cook] |
