Don’t let the name fool you
By Josh Hughes
Though it’s rather unfortunate name conjures up the ideas of ‘lesser quality’ and ‘amateur work’ Western’s B Gallery highlights some of the most interesting art the school has on display. With quickly rotating exhibits, the gallery showcases student work as well as other pieces that don’t exist alongside Western’s other two, more major galleries. With three exhibits left this quarter, the B Gallery, located in Fine Arts Building 118, has a diverse array of art that sometimes goes unnoticed by the average student. Abigail Kuchar and Ruby Jones’ show, Disintegration, runs through November 8 in the gallery, followed up on November 13 with a Chrochet Sculpture exhibit and on December 4 with a final Art 494 class show.
Kuchar and Jones, two students who had an opportunity to study as artists in residency at Anacortes’ Shannon Point Marine Center, have subtitled their exhibit “ocean acidification in the Salish Sea”. The two worked alongside scientists and conservationists at the center through the “Communicating Climate Change Through Art” and “Marine Science and the Arts” internships. The product of their time there is Disintegration, which addresses climate change and the invisibility of ocean life that is struggling to stay alive in the Salish Sea.
Focusing on shellfish and other ocean calcifiers, the pieces evoke ideas about conservation and the fear of extinction— disintegration. Paintings of “oil slicked oysters” and a wall sculpture of sparse barnacles line the exhibit, commenting on the imminent dangers that wildlife face right here in our backyards.
“‘Horror Vacui’ is a Latin derived statement meaning ‘fear of emptiness’ or ‘fear of the empty’,” says Kuchar says of her work and the exhibit. “Really I’m talking about the fear of emptiness in general. A fear of ecosystems becoming vacant, abandoned. A fear of people having to leave their homes and communities due to changes in climate, leaving behind empty homes,” reads her wall text at the entrance of the gallery. Disintegration speaks to the fear of erasure, and of ecosystems spiraling into oblivion if not cared for and conserved.
The B Gallery will also host the Chrochet Sculpture exhibit from November 13 through 24, featuring a fibers and fabrics class exhibition. The gallery will close out the quarter with an exhibit of the work of students in Art 494, a course for advanced studio seminar credits.