Artwork
#drawing
#flowers
#ink
#nature
#sculpture
#Valerie Hammond
#watercolor
“Deer with feathers” (2024), ink and watercolor on handmade indigo paper, 25.5 x 27 inches. All photos © Valerie Hammond, shared with permission
In response to Greek mythology, Daphne was the descendant of river gods. Born with a surging starvation for freedom and autonomy, the nymph dedicated herself to residing a life rooted in solitude as she poured herself into deep passions like nature and searching. Though Daphne devoted quite a lot of time to exploring her tranquil environment, she ultimately discovered herself within the chaotic throes of unrequited love as Apollo desperately sought to grab her for himself. Sooner or later, throughout a relentless pursuit wherein Daphne was being chased by the Greek god, her solely escape was to name to her father for assist, who subsequently reworked her right into a laurel tree. Narratives just like this, symbolizing the adversity of self-preservation towards burdening pressures set forth by highly effective males, play a important function in Valerie Hammond’s present solo exhibition titled Dreamers Awake.
Whereas Hammond’s latest works imbue acquainted themes of nature, spirituality, and strife, additionally they evolve from the artist’s ongoing curiosity in surrealism’s skill to handle patriarchal narratives. “I discovered artistic potential in its exploration of the unconscious and the uncanny, and I admired its makes an attempt to liberate social conventions from conformist constructions,” Hammond explains within the exhibition textual content. “I used to be particularly intrigued by ladies’s involvement in surrealism, and their distinctive photos of sexuality, vulnerability, violence, and rage.”
A female determine with billowing texture emerges from an amalgamation of wasp nests, wooden, and paper in “Daphne 2,” alluding to the mythological story whereas emphasizing the inextricable parallels between female plight and the metamorphic traits of nature. “Laurel” fairly actually depicts the price of self-advocacy, portraying Daphne’s destiny as sprawling tree branches ascend from a pair of ft. Hammond’s ink items additional draw upon the dissolution of female our bodies, as inked silhouettes fade into landscapes behind them.
Dreamers Awake is on view at Pamela Salisbury Gallery in Hudson, New York till August 25. Control Hammond’s Instagram for extra updates and work.
Set up view of ‘Dreamers Awake’
“Daphne 2” (2024), paper, wasp nest, and wooden, 68 x 12.50 x 11 inches
“Laurel” (2023), hornets nest, paper and wooden, 65 x 30 x 24 inches
“Cat” (2024), ink and watercolor on handmade indigo paper, 18.5 x 25.5 inches
“Fox” (2024), ink and watercolor on handmade indigo paper, 2024, 18.5 x 25.5 inches
“Venus” (2024), paper, wasp nest, and wooden, 68 x 12.50 x 11 inches
Untitled, (2024), ink on Japanese paper, 72 x 39 inches
“Owlmoth III” (2024), ink and watercolor on handmade indigo dyed gampi paper, 18.5 x 25.5 inches
Untitled, (2024), ink and watercolor on Japanese indigo paper, 76 x 40 inches
Untitled, (2024), ink on Japanese paper, 72 x 39 inches
#drawing
#flowers
#ink
#nature
#sculpture
#Valerie Hammond
#watercolor
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