'Natural Transcendence' Exhibition Opens at Oolite Arts
Capturing our newfound connection to nature through the lens
The pandemic disrupted our way of life, but it also delivered us back to nature and the wilderness during a time when we searched for ways to get around COVID confinement.
To see how your recalibrated view of the great outdoors compares to the keen eyes of photographers and videographers, visit “Natural Transcendence” at Oolite Arts open July 16 through Aug. 22.
The title of the exhibition is rooted in the idea that being forced to stay away from people and public spaces compelled a renewed sense of gratitude for the natural elements that surrounds us.
Curated by filmmaker and video artist Rhonda Mitrani, founder of The Screening Room, the exhibition features thought-provoking works by seven artists, providing new perspectives on the intersection between humanity and nature in landscapes such as parks, bodies of water, sidewalks and even their own backyard. Participating artists include Adler Guerrier, Megan McLarney, Colleen Plumb, Anastasia Samoylova, Jennifer Steinkamp, Wendy Wischer and Antonia Wright.
“These artists are bringing nature to life with their own narrative and aesthetic,” said Mitrani. “This exhibition is a nod to the naturalists and transcendentalists who have written how in nature we feel a deeper connection to ourselves, to something spiritual.”
Highlights from the group show include digital artist Steinkamp's video projection of individual trees with twirling branches inspired by an Islamic dance.
Guerrier invites viewers to pace his yard during confinement and contemplate life in a poetic way.
Samoylova offers a colorful narrative on the dolphins that resurfaced in the canals of Venice in 2020 due to human inactivity with a vibrant collage of photos. Plumb’s photographs, mounted in lightboxes, feature her daughter lying in the grass, almost melting into the earth, and a ballet class held outdoors in water.
Two of Wright’s cyanotype photograms have been turned into enormous vinyls, placed on the windows that face out to the pedestrian mall on Lincoln Road.
Wischer’s multimedia installation can be read as a metaphor to a journey down a river.
And a multimedia video installation from McLarney alludes to East Asian scroll painting.
“Perhaps we could consider nature’s fragility post-pandemic since nature embraced us during a period of confinement," Mitrani suggested. “Hopefully this renewed relationship to nature resonates with us, and we make more effort for climate change, for our natural environment that is deteriorating in a slow boil.”