Above the Surface, There is Light, an Exhibition of Works by Jacey Harris

Jacey Harris is from Jackson Missouri, and is pursuing a BFA in Art with a concentration in sculpture. She works with materials such as wood and fibers, using yarn in nearly all of her three-dimensional work. Much of her art is inspired by drastic life events that often involve loss and grief. She incorporates themes from classic literature into her pieces, such as beauty, youth, insanity, and death. These topics are combined with personal experiences to create art that is not only pleasing to the eye but also contains a darker, more poetic meaning beneath its surface.

As a writer and a poet, Jacey chooses to subtly weave written creations into her visual art. She experiments with fragility and femininity, utilizing the self-portrait to showcase personally felt emotions. For a more naturalistic approach, she relies on film and alternative photography processes such as cyanotypes, allowing her love for both the camera and the color blue to tell her story.

Above the Surface, There Is Light dives headfirst into the feeling of drowning in the deepest blues and allowing the self to sink lower and lower as a form of escapism. Other forms of escapism can be found inside the literature that is read to be transported to new worlds to forget about reality and in physical travels abroad, which can be seen intertwined with deep, personal thoughts and poetry written while battling these unstable blues. These periods of grief are met with the inevitable ticking of time and the horrors of self-criticism, swirling with the unbearable pressures of feeling inadequate while overthinking the time that has been lost and wasted along with what little time may be left. These feelings place immense pressure on the self, leading to eventual suffocation and the death of what was once cherished.

Death plays a crucial role in this exhibition, allowing the dark period to come to an end and bringing forth the start of new life after realizing it is safe to emerge from the depths of the water that caused the drowning. This new life “above the surface” is seen as a resurrection in hues of vibrant greens, replacing the deep blue sorrows that once flooded all memories of the past. It is at this stage that acceptance is reached and healing can begin, leading to the growth of something stronger than before with the new light that will lead the way to contentment.

A reception for Above the Surface, There Is Light, will take place on Friday, May 8 from 5-7 pm. with a performance by the artist at 6:30.

All gallery exhibitions, events and talks are free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Dr. Joni Hand at jhand@semo.edu.