Past Exhibitions
Currents: Lydia Nakashima Degarrod
Currents is a gallery space dedicated to recognizing the work of emerging and evolving California artists. Featuring a different artist every two months, Currents presents a range of media, styles, and genres.
Our Eyes in a Fragmented World
This installation is inspired by the physical devastation created during the Anthropocene, the geological era, in which humans have been the main actors in causing the fragile state of our planet. I portray this fragility through a multitude of fiber spheres representing different aspects of our eroded world, and with the images of eyes of both human and animals as witnesses of our condition. As a visual artist, I believe in the power of the materials to be storytellers, so each use of fiber and color is reminding us about our past and traditions. I use flax, the oldest known fiber used by humans to recall our long presence, and mulberry, to honor my Japanese ancestors. By using these fibers, I aim at reminding us of our common ancestry, our mutual dependency on the flora and fauna, and to symbolically heal these fragmentations. I use the color blue to express hope.
About the Artist
Lydia Nakashima Degarrod, born in Chile, creates installations that blur the line between art and ethnography. Her work has shown nationally and internationally and received many awards. She has been Artist in Residence at the de Young Museum of Art, Center for Art and Public Life, Djerassi Artists Program, Virginia Tech University, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, and Kala Art Institute. She teaches at the California College of the Arts.