Vesna Jovanovic and Renee Prisble Una present new work
investigating the changing world between states of being.

Feburary 27- March 20, 2009
Closing Reception: March 20, 5:30-7:30

Vesna Jovanovic and Renee Prisble Una both create work using process as the foundation of investigation in their ever changing work. Their similarities are apparent in this exhibit of large scale photographs and sculptural installations, even as their media of expression are so different. Jovanovic, using large scale photographs, creates windows of departure for the viewer, while Una’s installations inhabit the same space as the viewer suggesting interaction. In this exhibit, both artists investigate and honor impermanence, the passing of time and inevitable decay or transformation of all things. Their work converges on the image and idea of fungus and liminal states of existence. Both artists are of Eastern European ancestry in which mushroom hunting is a seasonal activity. This exhibit’s closing reception correlates with the spring equinox, a time of transition and renewal, and the beginning of local mushroom hunting seasons including the morel.

In her large-scale photographs, Vesna Jovanovic shows us the passing of time and the impermanence that comes with it. She employs a homemade pinhole camera, an imperfect instrument that necessitates long exposures. Without any mechanical controls, the photographer resorts to becoming the light meter, viewfinder, and even the shutter. Thus, the camera demands the photographer's mindfulness. A continuous flux of our surroundings is captured in images of dried blades of grass, feathers half-buried in sand, and a shredded window screen, all caught in the wind. The camera's unusual depiction of time and space causes these images to convey both an awe and melancholy that is experienced in the face of transience. In addition to the pinhole images, this exhibit includes several photographs made with a conventional camera and infrared film. They depict fungus and lichen, glowing and coming to life on decaying tree bark. Jovanovic once again highlights the transience and transformation that is taking place. The combined joy of life and sadness of decay, examined through a process that translates the photographer's experience into an image, is present in all of the photographs.

Renee Prisble Una created several sculptural installations inspired by fungi. Usually invisible, fungi live below the surface and only create fruiting bodies such as mushrooms or mold for reproduction. Fungi are more closely related to animals, but are often observed as plants. Their transformative process in nature is an essential part of decomposition and nutrient exchange. Fungi are liminal organisms that close the gap in the duality of life and death, self and other, plant and animal. Una ironically uses ceramics, the most permanent of art materials, to create three of the fungi installations. This material choice creates a tension between the mysterious and temporary quality of fungi and the permanence of the sculptures. In her larger installation, Una has much like fungi themselves, recycled an unexpected material into a new form. She reused orange sweaters from thrift stores to create this large scale fungal invasion. As sculptural installation, Una’s fungi close the gap between object and space, and as installed in the gallery space, Una’s fungi symbolically represent a network of transformative decay below the surface of the gallery walls.