Past Artists

Artists Statement Sylvan Essence…

Sylvan Essence is an interactive installation exploring the visual, auditory, and olfactory language of the Hoh Rainforest, a temperate rainforest situated on the ancestral lands of the Hoh and Quileute Tribes. Using images, sounds, and scents from the Hoh, Sylvan Essence employs photography, sculpture, sound, and olfactory elements, allowing the viewer to see, hear, and smell the entangled web of relationships and complex conversations that make up the arboreal universe. Drawing from scientific research on plant communication, plant sensing, and tree bioacoustics, this piece coaxes the imagination to think and breathe in attunement with the trees. In this space, the viewer sees images of the forest, smells the fragrance of the moss and the trees, and they hear the sounds of the Hoh.

Guests can walk around and move inside a tree-like photo sculpture, a moss-covered tree trunk on the outside, root structures, and the smell of earth on the inside. Situated here, the viewer can look up at the tree canopy and find a place to rest on a mycelial stool. The mycelia are the “internet” of the forest, a complex fungal network beneath the ground enabling both communication and resource-sharing between trees. While sitting, the viewer can “connect with the connectors.” Here they can be still and listen to the resonant, deep rumble of the tree roots, a unique underground language recorded from a giant mother tree. As a human being ensconced in this reconstructed forest cosmos, the viewer has the opportunity to “become with” a multi-species ecosystem that is non-hierarchical, nurturing, and healing. Here they can contemplate the present moment, but they can also use that moment to re-envision different possible futures using the beauty and logic of the forest.

From a post-anthropocentric viewpoint, the objectification of the non-human, including the plant world, has directly contributed to species devaluation, extraction, and extinction. This dynamic is also tied to intra-human exploitation, as the dehumanization of people of color and environmental destruction are interrelated. As a maker, I use this as an opportunity to reimagine more synergistic systems, proposing a world where multi-species intersectionalism is possible.

Shoshana Fink Biography

I am an interdisciplinary artist focusing on photography, video, sound, olfaction, and installation, whose work is situated at the intersection of visual culture, technology, and ecology. In this context, my work critically reflects on the relationship between living organisms and their environment. Currently, there are two competing human-centered paradigms that dictate how we interrelate: the first emphasizes cooperation, preservation, and stewardship while the second stresses competition, extraction, and exploitation. With the intensification of anthropogenic influences, the question of what and how we are “worlding” together has become an urgent quandary. As such, it is the goal of my practice to explore stories of sympoiesis, or “making-with,” both in human and other-than-human contexts. As art-making provides a transformative network for writing novel narratives, my practice utilizes multiple mediums to mirror not only what is, but also to imagine what can be.

Shoshana Fink grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She studied classical violin for 17 years and completed two years of study at the Manhattan School of Music. She also has a B.A. with honors in anthropology from the University of Chicago and a B.F.A. in media arts from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Shoshana has over 15 years of experience as a Los Angeles-based film producer and director. During her time in Southern California, she worked on six feature-length documentaries and narratives.

In addition to numerous international screenings, two films she produced, An Injury to One and Who Killed Cock Robin, went to the Sundance Film Festival. From 2012 to 2015, she also worked at Participant Media under Academy-Award-nominated executive producer Diane Weyerman. In 2016, she left Los Angeles, and after a few years of living in Montana, she returned to the Twin Cities in 2018. In 2022,

Shoshana graduated with an M.F.A. in Visual Studies from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design with a focus on photography, video, sound, olfaction, and installation. She has served as a Teaching Artist in Residence at the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain at the University of Minnesota and as an Art Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin River Falls.

She is currently adjunct faculty at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Connect With Shoshana

Website
shoshanafink.com

Instagram
@shoshanafink

Mercy Muchai Mercy is the creative director of Nashipai. She lives in Nairobi, Kenya. Her pieces have been featured alongside the talented designer Arianne Zager in New York Fashion Week. Mercy created the Maasai Circular Beaded Loom hanging from the lights.

Nashipai Nashipai is a socially conscious brand founded by Jenny Behrens, inspired by the profound connections she formed with women artisans during her visit to Kenya in 2019. We firmly believe in making fashion a force of good. When you select our jewelry and accessories, you directly support the talented women artisans in Kenya who are ensured fair wages and opportunities for growth.

Tag them on Instagram at @mynashipai

History of Maasai Beading

The Maasai people have a profound tradition of creating exquisite beadwork, a skill that is passed down through generations. For the Maasai, beadwork is an artistic expression and a powerful means to celebrate and preserve their vibrant cultural heritage.

At the heart of Maasai beadwork lies the use of small glass beads. The colors used hold deep symbolic significance, reflecting various aspects of Maasai beliefs and traditions. For example, the color red embodies notions of bravery and strength, while blue evokes the boundless energy of the sky. White signifies purity and health, and green represents the fertile land and prosperity cherished by the Maasai community.

Maasai beadwork encompasses various items, including jewelry, accessories, and decorative objects. Meticulously crafted, these pieces feature intricate geometric patterns, motifs inspired by the awe-inspiring wonders of nature, and traditional symbols that encapsulate the Maasai way of life.

Lastly, a remarkable aspect of Maasai beadwork is its ability to convey messages through colors and patterns. Different combinations and arrangements of beads can communicate essential aspects of an individual’s identity, such as their age, social status, or marital status. Whether it’s a necklace denoting a person’s marital union or an elaborate pattern signifying a rite of passage, Maasai beadwork serves as a visual language within their community, speaking volumes about their rich cultural tapestry.

Learn more at mynashipai.com

Arianne was in her 20s “why don’t you weave fabric from the wire?” This started with single light weight disks as earrings and 3 inch wide strips to make choker necklaces. To Arianne’s surprise these items were a wild financial success. As artists often need to evolve their skill and craft the idea to make a wire crop top for a friend eventually grew into 7000 feet of twisted gold and silver to create breathtaking gowns and wearable art.

Arianne has been working with wire and creating textiles for about 20 years. Her artist mother before her hand made wire and crystal window sized spider webs. So from a very small age she was helping her mother bend and twist single strands into beauty. As Arianne grew up her mother casually mentioned when

This sculptural vision is titled drip. Arianne uses a single strand of wire to weave each piece. Creating loops and knotted nests Arianne creates 3D wearable art.

Combining her admiration for art and apparel construction each wire piece is completely unique and un-patterned. She creates the silhouettes off intuition and feels the shapes being created under her fingertips. Arianne refers to this process as hand spun. Using a hook and hand these pieces have caught the eye of Vogue Magazine, The cover and a 4 page spread with Karen Elson for citizen K magazine as well as a close up on the wire hood for a major beauty campaign in Paris.

This collection leaves for NY fashion week this September 7th and was personally invited by the CFDA to show 15 pieces on the NY fall runway. Arianne also was pursued by FNL to make a film with the wire frocks for International Digital Fashion Week. She immediately teamed up with Minneapolis’s videographer Adrian Wilson and together they just completed a truly unique 5 min art film in FRANCONIA sculpture garden, titled DRIP. This film will debut October 5 live streaming to over 85 million people.

Arianne Zager has been working with wire and creating textiles for about 20 years. Her artist mother before her hand made wire and crystal window-sized spider webs. So from a very small age, she was helping her mother bend and twist single strands into beauty. As Arianne grew up, her mother casually mentioned when Arianne was in her 20s, “Why don’t you weave fabric from the wire?” This started with single lightweight disks as earrings and 3-inch wide strips to make choker necklaces. To Arianne’s surprise, these items were a wild financial success. As artists often need to evolve their skills and craft the idea to make a wire crop top for a friend eventually grew into 7000 feet of twisted gold and silver to create breathtaking gowns and wearable art.

This sculptural vision is titled Drip. Arianne uses a single strand of wire to weave each piece. Creating loops and knotted nests, Arianne creates 3D wearable art. Combining her admiration for art and apparel construction, each wire piece is entirely unique and un-patterned. She creates the silhouettes off intuition and feels the shapes being created under her fingertips. Arianne refers to this process as handspun. Using a hook and hand, these pieces have caught the eye of Vogue Magazine, The cover and a 4-page spread with Karen Elson for Citizen K magazine as well as a close-up on the wire hood for a major beauty campaign in Paris.

“This collection leaves for NY fashion week this September 7th and was personally invited by the CFDA to show 15 pieces on the NY fall runway.“

Arianne also was pursued by FNL to make a film with the wire frocks for International Digital Fashion Week. She immediately teamed up with Minneapolis’s videographer Adrian Wilson, and together they just completed a truly unique 5 min art film in the FRANCONIA sculpture garden titled DRIP. This film will debut on October 5, live streaming to over 85 million people.

Watercolor Paintress & Portfolio Website
ariannezager.com

Fashion Designer
zagazaproduction.com

Instagram
@ariannezager