ENSEMBLE

 

This year's annual holiday ENSEMBLE show features new work by 60 Gallery Artists, plus a new body of mixed media collages by Blair Hobbs titled "Radiant Matter." Opening Friday, November 17, 6 - 8 p.m. & Saturday, November 18, 12 - 4 p.m. Trish Andersen, David Boyd, Kyle Brooks, Wendell George Brown, Caroline Bullock, Mark Caceres, Marc Chatov, Angela Carter, Myrtie Cope, Eilis Crean, Laura Dargan, Shannon Davis, John Dean,  Erin Dixon, Virginie Drujon-Kippelen, Marina Dunbar, Peter Essick, Julie Ferris, Jerushia Graham, Susan Hable, Heather Bird Harris,  Kerry Hays, Evan Blackwell Helgeson, Robert Hightower,  Blair Hobbs, Tim Hunter, McLean Jenkins, Susan Ker-Seymer, Cynthia Knapp, Sarah Lamb, Heather Lancaster, Carlyle Wolfe Lee,  Thad Lee, Susan Lenz, Shelby Little, Chris Little, Susan Maakestad, Jennifer McKinnon, Charlie McCullers, Cecila Montalvo, Kate Hooray Osmond, Esteban Patino, Scotty Peek, Zhou Peng, Guy Robinson, Sachi Rome, Tokie Rome-Taylor, Katherine Sandoz, Richard Thomas Scott, Corrina Sephora, Aimee Farnet Siegel, Jerry Siegel, Richard Skoonberg, Spencer Sloan, Ellen Kier Stein, Nancy Talero, Gregor Turk, Christina Renfer Vogel, Jim Wise BLAIR HOBBSRadiant Matter I was diagnosed with breast cancer in November of 2022. “Radiant Matter” is a body of work that maps this year’s difficult passage.

In the early part of last year’s winter, when I was especially fearful, I created some pieces to offer myself some joy. Through my studio window, I stared long & hard at my bird feeder & dreamed of flight, an escape from my stitched-up & bruised chest. I turned my torso into a place where winged creatures would live, a goofy pun of a Titmouse House. Pink, of course, was on my mind, so I took that color with me on a fantasy return to Oaxaca, a place that inspires me. I listened to music & made a collage of being Lucinda Williams fun-hell-on-wheels. I drew butterflies, trumpet lilies—all manner of nature’s beauty.

I grew interested in my own body & its exposure to environmental dangers. I also woke to my own mental dangers, & how I’ve caused harm to myself. Venus De Milo is my young self, striving for beauty through an eating disorder. Both starvation & cancer consume a healthy body. “Hebe’s Fountain of Youth” also reflected environmental dangers. It’s fine to want a fountain of youth, but be careful before you dip into it, the water might be toxic. 

In mid to late winter, I had nineteen radiation treatments. Along the way, I grew curious about the light waves that were killing off any remaining cancer cells. I researched Marie Curie & her discovery of polonium & radium. I’m often interested in nature’s repetition, & in this piece, I saw radiant ribcages look much like fern leaves. In much of the art, I used imagery of the sun & several light sources—all kinds of electromagnetic waves. (electric catfish & lightning, for example). I was interested in my healthy skin, sure to emerge from the burn like a cicada freed from its shell. My radiologist, interested in my Art, shared his imaging maps of my breast, all illuminating my breast tissue as rainbows. I used his lab photographs in several of the Art pieces.

These collages are made from a variety of materials. I draw the figures in pen & pencil & then arrange them on the acrylic & oil pastel canvas. I use materials that are soft or sparkly & often associated with femininity: mulberry papers, glitter, rhinestones, metallic tape, lace, sequins, velvet, origami paper, embroidery threads, & fancy placemats. I hope that this show reminds people to look for beauty in the midst of fear. More than anything, I hope this show reminds busy folks to pause, pick up the phone, & make a potentially life-saving mammogram appointment.   - Blair Hobbs

Raised in Alabama & based in Oxford, Mississippi, Blair Hobbs is a Senior Lecturer of Creative Writing at the University of Mississippi.