November 2 – December 2, 2023
Artist Ingrid Sojit is drawn to deep philosophical questions. Employing a broad range of visual symbols, she explores these questions in pictorial form. A series of oil paintings, mixed media collage and paper collage, Recover, Transcend, Repeat engages viewers in a visual discussion on the nature of change, resilience and transcendence.
Sojit’s symbolic lexicon ranges from representational to abstract. A bird can represent freedom or the ability to rise above difficulties, the color red may symbolize strength, vigor or love, while a faint blurred broken line can convey exhaustion or psychological trauma. In June of 2020, Ingrid decided to set aside paper collage, a medium she had employed nearly exclusively over the previous five years, and returned to oil painting. The pandemic provided a safe and private space to experiment, and she decided to make art about how she imagined her own afterlife, a theme inspired by the reality of the unfolding deadly pandemic. While working on the afterlife series, Sojit began to understand that this series was just one branch of a broader theme which had been present in her work for some time. The cycle of trauma, transcendence and recovery is at the core of all biological life. Imagining an afterlife was Ingrid’s attempt to understand the role of death within this cycle.
Representing change in two dimensional art can be challenging. While change is an inherent dimension in temporal and kinetic art forms, in two dimensional art change is often conveyed through symbols, references, or the guided movement of the viewer’s eyes. Recover, Transcend, Repeat is symbolic with varying degrees of representationalism. Recognizable objects, suggestive shapes, evocative colors and gestural forms are employed in a way that illustrates transformative change. Transformation is viewed, not as a unique and spectacular event, but as a fundamental aspect of life in all its forms and at every stage.
Is growth simply a matter of embracing change by actively engaging in multiple cycles of recovery and transcendence? Do strength and perseverance naturally emerge when this cycle has been completed? Does death abruptly end the natural cycle of trauma, followed by healing, followed by transcendence? Or is death the most dramatic version of the same cycle?
Recover, Transcend, Repeat is an exploration of these philosophical questions and will be on display at Gallery 110 from November 2 – December 2, 2023. Gallery hours are Thursday – Saturday from 12pm – 5pm and by appointment. Please join us for the First Thursday Art Walk on November 2, 2023 from 4-8pm.