Description
July 1st marks the midpoint of 2010 and the opening of Crossroads, Bekris Gallery’s midsummer exhibition. A crossroads is a metaphysical place where people meet; it is a conjuror’s place where two realms touch; it is a toponym for the intersection of roads or cultures; it is a psychological place where a decision must be made. Each of these meanings is reflected in Crossroads, which presents work by five African women.In the work of Etiye Dimma Poulsen, Crossroads captures the political and historical significance of the Axumite Empire an ancient kingdom which extended from northern Ethiopia to southern Saudia Arabia. Axum (or Aksum) was a trading power whose crossroads location and resources allowed it to trade with Rome, Byzantium, Persia and other kingdoms in Africa. The kingdom’s ancient stelae, stone towers which marked the graves of kings or nobles, inspired Dimma Poulsen’s stelae-like ceramic Axumites.
In Lot’s Wife, Diane Victor presents her beautifully etched image of a heavily burdened wife who has not yet made her fatal decision to look back upon a South African Gomorrah. Victor’s Apollo and Daphne depicts Daphne who has begged for permission not to marry after Peneus has granted her plea that she be saved from Apollo’s pursuit. A slightly sultry, open shirted Apollo looks on.
Lushly colored prints by Penny Siopis and Deborah Bell explore the pain of a victim’s inability to walk away and metaphysical healing of both the body and the spirit.
Nnenna Okore’s sculpture, crafted with found objects, both the unused and the discarded, is also included in Crossroads. Okore’s work takes her viewers to the intersection of the worlds of art and recycling where detritus is reimagined then repurposed into vibrant new forms.
Crossroads continues from July 1 to July 31, 2010. An opening reception with be held on July 1 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
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