About

Lydia Street Gallery presents two separate shows at once!

BENNÉ ROCKETT - REPAIRING NATURE
Her current body of work, Repairing Nature, utilizes Japanese traditions for imbuing worn and broken objects with a second season. The loosely interpreted techniques of kintsugi and sashiko highlight the salvageability of all things. Equally evocative are the materials. A pair of small sculptural dresses are made from tarlatan, a material used by printmakers to wipe excess ink off plates. Plant DNA barcodes are carved into surfaces while gold eye pins pierce surfaces to draw a genome sequence. Fruits, vegetables, and garden detritus are encased in beeswax. All of these materials are used to document the layers of being alive.
“In a society where we throw away things quickly and toss around opinions as facts, mending, darning, and stitching become radical acts. Repairing nature and our own nature is a small way to consider what we consume and why we consume, and that is important and precious.”
- Benné Rockett

MELANIE HICKERSON - RIBBON OF LIFE
Narrative art isolates the artist (whether in words or dance or music or imagery) both inside and out. The artist becomes both observer and participant.
Humans have a magical power called imagination. Some say this capacity looks inward. Some say no, it is the universe outside that feeds this power. Both are infinite or each is infinite. To even get a glimpse of what’s available we (artists and audience) are required to charge headlong. What people must use in creating is imagination, curiosity and courage. And imagination must be trained and exercised like a muscle to be useful.
I want to explore. Look at the world and use what I have, what I see and what I feel. I stretch to learn, practice, explore materials then apply with courage. My mom always said leave a place better than you found it. That includes this planet. Visual art can contribute information, entertainment and wonder. The social nature of our species benefits greatly from such objects and energy in this world.