Strange Preservations

October 05 - 28, 2023
Opening Reception / Thursday, October 05, 5–8pm

Autumn Gallery Hours:
Friday–Sunday, 12–5pm

L. Breed
Jasmine Fetterman  
quinn mcnichol  
Jessica Marie Mercy  
Rena Priest  

Strange Preservations navigates the linkages of abject body(s) and its limits of identity and belonging within the socio-political governance of acceptability. 

Each artist presents works to bring to light the emotional weathering that exists within those experiences. With a necessity to preserve the future, the artists craft spaces that demonstrate these personal narratives and demand their inclusion. Utilizing a multifaceted approach to material and concept Strange Preservations orients SOIL as a space of visibility and support for these identities.

ARTIST BIOS //

L. Breed combines conventional book binding and printmaking methods with unconventional materials to explore the question of when a book stops being a book and starts becoming something else and vise-versa. Found objects are manipulated and adapted, often incorporating her own hand to create these story vessels.   

Jasmine Fetterman uses a multi-disciplinary and research based approach to explore the complex and fluid nature of identity as a universal concept throughout humanity. As a Central European, first generation American, they reference themes of western histories, mythologies, and aesthetics to explore politics of the queer body and its relationship to constructed space. 

quinn mcnicol

In the studio, the act of drawing, painting, carving, cutting, shaping, and gluing is a way to bridge my daily fears and anxieties with a dreaming, playful mind. This brings me to a settled space, where I feel able to uproot and examine my lived or inherited sensations and experiences. I imagine art to be a regenerative, healing magic. I listen to folk music that reminds me of my dad, and I read books that recall my mother. News and daydreams and longings for an unattainably perfect future merge with these sounds and words. My medicinal herb garden grows slowly, protected by mugwort and yarrow. Contained inside these parentheses of my life, I make art that wonders how my experiences affect my white/pink body/mind as I move through space to interact with plants and other humans. Through this creative examination of what exists inside of and around me, I heal from pain that sticks inside my body, becoming a part of the greater healing that is so drastically needed on this hurting earth.

Jessica Marie Mercy, known for her obsession with queer spaces, social justice, and her aggressive LGBTQIA advocacy, is recognized for her exceptional abilities within the medium of printmaking and ceramics. Jessica Marie Mercy’s work reflects their ability to spin a visual narrative while simultaneously initiating dialogues. Mercy’s focus is creating work that immortalizes queer experiences while exploring safer spaces within their queer communities.