ADORNED - Art Gone Wild @ The Parsonage
For my current 2024 exhibition at The Parsonage I have selected to show my six pendants from my Art Gone Wild Residency last year with Allegra Kuhn at Stover Preserve in Belfast, Maine. Now in an interior space they can be reflected upon in new light. Intermingled with my new tondo paintings these all reflect a sincere craving for understanding our place within the landscape- Macro and micro, inward and outward, past and present. Peter Walls
Below are some of the videos of the installation in the wild. Enjoy-
For this installation I have chosen to paint the gallery to create a feeling that transports me to many of these places I have painted. Also, for the reception a woodland soundtrack takes you to Stover Preserve and a glimpse into the original outdoor installation of the pendants. This soundscape was created by Emily Sabino and I thank her for helping to fulfill my vision for the event.
“The Art Gone Wild Residency through Waterfall Arts and Coastal Mountain Landtrust has given us permission to PLAY and explore new ways of seeing, making, and reaching our audience through our exploration and discoveries within the Stover Preserve. We both come from a sculpture background and what we have created this year has brought us back to our roots, taking our Art off the wall and into the trees!”
A portion of our forest play was to imagine rethinking how trails are presented to the public. Taking cues from the jewelry industry our pendants are icons for the Stover Preserve itself. Having nature as inspiration is integral to Art, Design, and creativity thus we spent time with the preserve during our residency and let it speak to us. Creating this “jewelry” for the trees focuses ones attention to how special these preserved lands, flora, and fauna are. We hope that the pendents, worn on this special occasion, let you see the forest differently and celebrate it for how special and beautiful it is.
“Trees are phenomenal living beings. They represent the majority of the earthly biomass on this planet yet their importance to life and to the biosphere is often underestimated. Forests are the lungs of our planet. Trees produce the oxygen that we breathe, making them vital to our existence. They act as giant filters, absorbing pollutants such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide from the air and preventing greenhouse gas from being emitted into the atmosphere. They have the ability to absorb and store up to 22 tons of carbon dioxide in their wood, roots and leaves. Trees clean dangerous chemicals and pollutants from the soil by storing or changing the pollutant into something more benign. This is why the cleanest water may be found running through our forests.”
Sacred Trees of India: Adornment and Adoration as an Alternative to the Commodification of Nature: By Louise Fowler-Smith
Peter Walls + Allegra Kuhn