Tangled Tongue
Jennifer Rose Sciarrino’s poetic work reminds us of the need to build intimacy in a disconnected world.
Jennifer Rose Sciarrino, “From Root to Lip,” 2018
alabaster, glass, steel and brass, detail of installation (photo by Jaime Vedres Photography)
In the global scope of the Anthropocene, we spend much time thinking at a macro level. Jennifer Rose Sciarrino’s exhibition, Ruffled Follicles and a Tangled Tongue, reminds us of the micro-level biological exchanges we partake in each day, and their potential for re-establishing a sense of intimacy in a disconnected world.
The show, on view until Feb. 17 at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery in Lethbridge, Alta., almost resembles a scientific display. Sciarrino’s stone and glass sculptures are mounted on delicate armatures and evoke an alien arboretum of science-fiction lore.
In reality, these works magnify microscopic structures, emphasizing the importance of the invisible elements of everyday life. Seeds, spores and bacteria become large enough to embrace, and their sensual curves call out to be cradled – the implication being that we need to better steward biological and environmental resources.
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Jennifer Rose Sciarrino, “From Root to Lip,” 2018
alabaster, glass, steel and brass, detail of installation (photo by Jaime Vedres Photography)
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Jennifer Rose Sciarrino, “From Root to Lip,” 2018
alabaster, glass, steel and brass, detail of installation (photo by Jaime Vedres Photography)
The micro-macro dialogue is reiterated even more intimately and persuasively in a video installation titled Vessels for Coalescence, which shows three women reading into a hole in a blown-glass sculpture. Close-ups reveal condensation on the glass as evidence of speech. In a way, it’s not just the sharing of words, but also the sharing of bodily fluids. The breath becomes visible and tangible, reminding us that speech is not just words, but an exchange of sound waves.
The dialogue reverberates, obscured voices resonating inside the glass vessel and building on each other to create a larger sonic effect. This aural approach distorts so only snippets are comprehensible: “We need to be less than a grain of sand … I’m not a scientist … I think I’m starting to see what you’re saying … I forgot what I lost along the way, I wonder if it was important … nothing can handle this heat … change is crucial.”
Jennifer Rose Sciarrino, “Vessels for Coalescence,” 2018
glass, video loop, installation view (photo by Jaime Vedres Photography)
The exchange is disjointed, understandings blurred. Is this a parallel to scientific discourse on mainstream media? We listen only to what’s easily comprehensible, not things that might challenge our worldview.
Sciarrino avoids prescribed solutions for these conundrums. But when the video loops around, the first line of dialogue stands out: “I know we need to be better listeners.” While there are no quick fixes to the problems facing the world, Sciarrino suggests that re-establishing intimate connections within a fragmented social order may help people find the collective strength to address larger issues. ■
Ruffled Follicles and a Tangled Tongue is on view from Dec. 8, 2018 to Feb. 17, 2019 at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery in Lethbridge, Alta.
Southern Alberta Art Gallery
601 3 Avenue S, Lethbridge, Alberta T1J 0H4
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