Fine arts faculty exhibition opens

Self•ish, a new installation at the WSU Schnitzer Museum of Art, features the work of three WSU fine arts faculty: Doug Gast, Joe Hedges, and Io Palmer.

Though varied in process and mediums, the artists assembled an exhibition reflecting on a central theme: the formation and depiction of personhood within our multifaceted and progressively digital era.

Using his own self-image, Hedges’ work speaks to fragmented identities through online storage and distortion. The piece includes two portions: a large oil painting of himself and a series of monitors and computers that show contrasting images.

Gast’s project probes the margin of private and public image use across popular image-sharing platforms and includes more than 450 selfies taken by five different individuals.

Lastly, Palmer takes a laborious view of a culture’s insatiable appetite for abundant images and adornment.

One wall showcases her work with hundreds of wooden vanity mirrors of various sizes and colors. Palmer said the hundreds of gaudy mirrors show the importance of surface level appearances in today’s society.

“I would like for people to spend time with it,” she said. “To not just see it as 400 plus mirrors but to just sit with it.”

The exhibition is open until Oct. 6, 2018, and is located in Borth Gallery. A reception and gallery talk featuring all three artists will be held Tuesday, Sept. 11, from noon–1:30 p.m. All exhibits at the museum are free and open to the public.

Complied from The Daily Evergreen (Julia Golan) and WSU Insider (Debbie Stinson).

Top photo: Self*ish exhibit at WSU Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (photo by DAVID PEDRAZA | THE DAILY EVERGREEN).