About the exhibit: Near the rivers there are many large springs is an exhibition that highlights the Florida landscape from the lenses of four South Florida artists that use historical elements, raw data, repurposed materials, and nature to create awareness of the changing environment in the area. Milena Arango’s leaf imprints on paper and textile using natural pigments extracted from the teak tree serve as a reflection of her personal journey. Her 197-feet long VTG (Vestigium Tectona Grandis) exposes traces of leaves and the effects of land and water from multiple landscapes. Donna Ruff’s interest in history and the tropical landscape led her to discover archival landscape photographs in a 1920’s book by John Kunkel Small. Inspired by his call to protect Florida’s wetlands a century ago, Ruff’s created silkscreens from her landscape photographs on locations previously captured by Small, and printed them on pages of a book by Small that identifies flora in Miami. KX2 presents artworks made with repurposed materials, raising awareness on issues related to climate change and water infrastructure. Boil Notice focuses on a lack of access to potable water, industrial waste pollution, and the effect of climate change on our water infrastructure. And works from Obstruction Series aim to raise an awareness of the dependence on the vast and hidden networks of utility pipes of our modern world and the pressures they face with climate change, population growth and pollution. The title of the exhibition comes from the book Ferns of Florida by John Kunkel Small, repurposing a phrase used to describe the lavish conditions that Florida’s landscape offers for the abundant growth of ferns. For an exhibition that celebrates repurposing, re-using, and recovering, the use of this phrase, written almost a hundred years ago, serves as a reminder of the natural conditions of the land we currently inhabit.
Exhibition On View: April 11 through July 20, 2024 |
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