Bodies Are Water
Maxwell Library, 3rd. Floor
January 15 - March,2025
The coastal waters of New England have long drawn artists to the drama of wave on rock or the soothing imagery of a glasslike ocean and sandy shore. Animated by the founding myths of the American colonies and legends of the heroic maritime culture, the artistic inspiration is steeped into the New England narrative. The many bays that shape its coast, and the marine life that inhabits its waters have drawn artists like Maurice Prendergast, Marsden Hartley and Winslow Homer to these shores and have captivated them by the purity and sublime force of wind, water and rock.
The unexplored expanse that was our rich history of seafaring has today been replaced by a tidal wave of man-made materials that create a mass of brightly colored plastic bits. As flotsam from around the globe clutters the most remote beaches and swirling vortices of buoyant trash form new islands in the Pacific. This generation of artists draw inspiration not from the sublime but from the devastation of oceans by climate change, pollution, and unsustainable practices. Submerged cities have replaced coastal breakers, plastic has replaced pristine sands, and the heroic has been replaced by the tragic.