Blog Post #1: Sediments Impressions

Visiting Sediments on a hot Monday afternoon transported me to the East Coast. As I was guided by a trail of stones and pebbles into the studio space, I began piecing together the elements of all the work on display and was transported to the memories of the artists whilst on Fogo Island. Here are some of my impressions, thoughts and questions:

1. Ocean feel: The aesthetic quality of each art piece was in conversation with one another. Works allowed me to visually draw the connection of being in a small fishing Maritime town.
2. Consistent use and references to seashells and rocks–natural elements.
3. Variety in medium, and size including photographs, painting, video and installation.
4. Why Fogo Island? What is the significance of these works being about that land over any other island?
5. There were a lot of references to Fogo’s natural environment, why was this so impactful/influential on the artists? Was it because of the concern and change due to the environmental crisis or the beauty of it?
6. Who are the people and community of Fogo Island?
7. The exhibition took me on a journey, where I felt I started zoomed out, seeing the trip as a whole, from the starting being photographs of the trip, zooming in closer to the very inner details such as an abstract video created by the etching of a shell in Nacre by Auden Tura.
8. Light hearted feel, didn’t give me any emotional feelings or reactions of shock.
9. There wasn’t one piece of work that drew me in more than another; they felt equal in weighting and very balanced.
10. Meditative and reflective of artists more inner and contemplative moments at Fogo—such as the work Comfortable Silence by Mia Choschignano. I was able to imagine what those moments would have looked like and felt like for the artists on the trip and join them on the journey through my own imagination.