an experiential exhibition delving into the intricate rhythms of mourning and reminiscence
In their latest exhibition, Resurgence, artists Sam Rueter, Morgan East and Bri Wenke formulated an immersive world to entrance the viewers through the cycles of grief and nostalgia; working to prove that to two go hand-in-hand.
See the collection of work
Within the 700 sqft of Silver Hill Studio in downtown Charleston, Resurgence opened for one weekend only in an independently lead exhibition; fully curated and funded by the artists themselves. This collective is working to push the boundaries of what is rendered approachable contemporary art in the SouthEast.
Grief, like a heavy coat, is something we learn to live with, always carry, learn to accept. In our grief and our discomfort, we lose our ability to see the light of things. It has the tendency to swallow us whole. Like being tossed in the waves as a child, it flips us upside-down, under and over; without any indication of when we will have our next chance for breath.
Up and down the walls of the dimly-lit exhibition space, towering waves and rushes of water take the shapeless force of grief. Spilling into every surface and space of the exhibition, the cyclical wave continues. The viewers were taken through a 40-minute visual narration of these cycles; alongside a composed soundtrack to stimulate all of the senses. The soundtrack is composed of melodramatic strings, narrow pitch ranges, and sound bits from the artists’ personal memories; ones that bring them back to a certain place or time.
Through the dimly-lit, maze-like pathways of the exhibition, over 25 paintings of figurative work lined the walls; some with neon paints to interact with the slowly-surging lights above. The pieces examine both the abstract and literal notions of how grief works through the body, how it seeps into all empty spaces in our lives; and most importantly; how it heals within the collective. Resurgence begs us to generate a pause through the gift of a fully tactile, immersive experience; one that calls the viewer to explore their own complexities and humanness.
