Mara Trachtenberg’s exhibition “A Decadent World Night” of sculptures, photos and a stop-motion animation video wraps up at AS220’s Project Space in Providence tomorrow with a public chat between her and Sarina Mitchel, who also has work on view at the gallery.
“In ‘Wings,’ I contemplate winged creatures as beings that have the power of flight and a history rooted in religious symbolism,” the Wakefield, Rhode Island, artist writes in her exhibition statement. “I imagine that I am an explorer, akin to a turn of the 20th century conservationist visiting an unknown, unexplored place to discover the existence of strange and beautiful winged creatures. I observe, document, hunt, and preserve them.”
She continues, “Capturing these winged creatures was not easy for they only appear at night. I have been fortunate to have captured some and turned their wings, symbols of religious and spiritual power into trophies for décor and testament to humanity’s power over nature. When I found myself too spent to hunt, I captured them with my camera and was quite fortunate to have captured a winged creature becoming feathered and taking flight for the first time. I, as the hunter, scientist, and explorer consume nature for my intellectual curiosity, sustenance, power, and aesthetic experiences as well as to enlighten my fellow humans. // In this work I have become the predator of my dreams.”
Help us keep producing our great coverage of local arts, cultures and activism by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon. And sign up for our free, weekly newsletter so that you don’t miss any of our reporting.
