Holly Engel
Staff Writer
To many of us, the ocean is a place of beauty, wonder and even mystery — a vast expanse of water that connects the human race figuratively and literally. In it, we see reflections of who we are now and who we were thousands of years ago.
To explore these connections, 20 different artists collaborated in the traveling exhibit “The Ocean After Nature,” which is due to visit The College of Wooster Art Museum this month.
Opening on Sept. 11 in the Ebert Art Center, “The Ocean After Nature” is a combination of photography, sculptures, music, videos and other media inspired by humanity’s interactions with the ocean.
“The work reveals how we make sense of the ocean today, and how politics, economies and culture propel today’s planetary issues,” said exhibition curator Alaina Claire Feldman in her statement to the art museum, found on the College’s website.
Though the focus of the pieces is directly upon the ocean, the exhibit also provokes thoughts as to how humananity treats the natural world.
“Today’s oceans reveal more about the consequences of human actions than ever before,” said Feldman.Indeed, many of the pieces either hint at these consequences or place them starkly in front of the viewers or listeners. Found on the exhibit’s webpage, “Territorial Map of the World” by artists Yonatan Cohen and Rafi Segal use oceans, or, rather, the absence of oceans, to depict how significantly the seas have affected politics.
In a film still from “Subatlantic,” ice floes float like clouds in a watery sky, a bright spot of sun shining unwaveringly above them.
Of course, interpretation and response to these works is ultimately up to the viewer.
“Instead of offering direct solutions, The Ocean After Nature employs aesthetic imagination to encourage a rethinking of our place in the world,” Feldman stated. “Seascapes do not only reflect power but can be instruments of power themselves. It is our job to remember that with great power comes great responsibility.”
“The Ocean After Nature” will be on view at The College of Wooster Art Museum through Nov. 18, and an opening reception will be held Thursday Sept. 20 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., where Feldman will give a gallery talk about the exhibition.
Film screenings of “The Forgotten Space” by Allan Sekula and Noël Burch, “Endless Dreams and Water Between” and “Hydra Decapita” by Renee Green and The Otolith Group, respectively, and “Wassernege” by Ulrike Ottinger will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 26, Wednesday, Oct. 24 and Wednesday, Nov. 7, in Ebert 223 from 7 to 9 p.m.