Remnants seems a fitting word for this exhibit happening April 18th. Scott and I were invited to show at the Mills Center on the University of Oregon campus. This show will not be titled remnants; however, it is the title I dubbed this show because this exhibit I think exemplifies the idea that artwork is but a trace of the creative process…the experience of creativity is suspended in the object. The works shown will be traces of two installations that Scott and I have collaborated on over the last 6 years. Not the entire installations will be a part of this show.
©2012 Sisy Anderson and Scott Huette
Remembrances will glow of autumn grandeur with the 8′ hand-constructed scrolls that depict a panoramic view trees, forest and skyline. Along with it will be the beautiful ten foot long cyanotypes and watercolor paintings from Solace and Solitude cascading from ceiling to floor in front of the Mills Center Windows. Each of these installations are traces from two conceptual installations and yet these remnants can stand upon their own as beautiful works of art.
There is something about tracing a path backwards to see how it unfolded over time. Remembrances is an exploration into memory. Those that we continue to hold as well as those memories that no longer serve us, falling away like a leaf under a tree. Solace and Solitude is the moment of transition when the remnant of the past is slowly transitioning into something new, like bare branches that slowly blossom.
As I think about remnants or traces of something remaining, I am also reminded that these works have left traces in the places they have been. Remembrances had been installed in 2010 in Tacoma Washington’s Space Works storefronts which sparked a journalist to write this article now a remnant of a past show.
And pondering further, I realize that these two installations are born out of a larger idea that Scott and I have slowly been considering over the years. The larger exhibit has to do with our combined interests in the natural rhythms of the earth, wabi sabi elements, the four cardinal points, and the Bagua to name a few. Once completed each installation will be remnants of a larger collective installation. A trace of our collaborative and creative journey.
