Reactive Objects: Sammi McLean
On View: January 13- February 24
Artist Talk: Saturday, January 27, 2018 | 6:00 PM
Reactive Objects is an exhibition that preserves the ephemeral interactions with language and place in our daily lives. Assuming there is some hidden pattern or code to unmask in our experiences, this work makes connections to either forge a path to a piece that is missing, or create some semblance of intimacy again by working with familial objects and imagery. Through a series of woodcut and collagraph plates combined with letterpress, imagery of catalogued text and found objects are playfully transformed through the recursive and cyclical nature of the printmaking process. Embracing chance, the imagery is fragmented, layered and collaged to create misrepresentation of information which oscillates between memories and documented experiences. Symbols and imagery are repeated throughout the exhibition, allowing us to witness them shift into something new every time they’re reworked.
As a printmaker, McLean’s practice aligns with those who reveal their process as part of their work. Plates are installed throughout the gallery, making space to witness the dimensional textures from which an image was pulled, like a sophisticated rubbing. While McLean’s work constantly grapples with understanding her personal experience and place in the world, she often relies on her gut to guide her. Working intuitively, Reactive Objects feels akin to the lost art of navigating from the stars in lieu of a roadmap. Even the exhibition itself is oriented towards discovery as viewers are encouraged to interact with elements of the installation.
Sammi McLean, born and raised in South Florida, received her MFA from Florida Atlantic University in Printmaking. She is a hybridized maker, as she often works with sculpture, collage and new technology through the lens of printmaking. has been awarded the Lynn Travis Stendor Women in the Visual Arts Scholarship, Rothenberger Fellowship and the Friedland Project Grant.