Wonderlanded
An installation by Hank Waddell
Opening May 15, 7-10 pm.
Exhibition runs through June 5.
This installation is an attempt to find newness, to bring out the instinctual acts, to find the built in ‘play’ that leads to our survival in learning how the world works.
When the child experiences materials, objects, or icons, there is only newness: no nostalgia, no flash backs, no painful or pleasurable feelings arise. As time adds years to our lives we find materials, we find objects – we find ourselves. Gathered experiences connect together to create an overall feeling of who we are. Do these experiences cause us to become arrogant and stubborn or fun-filled, jolly, kind or caring?
When we consider the stuff that makes up our individual identity how do we find something new? How do we look at the world with fresh eyes? We must use our instincts and our willingness to believe that somewhere, built in, is a fun game to play that will teach us more.
The work of Hank Waddell is a veritable exploration into this process. Utilizing specific materials juxtaposed in curious ways, he creates a playground of thought and time. Techniques, technology, processing, dirt, products, steel, hard work, ecology, lead, wood and more are transformed to give the viewer something new. And it is this ‘new’ that becomes the portal to our survival based instinct to play.
Gallery Hours 12-5 pm Wed & Sat and by appointment.
Photo: Drawing of the artist and his grandson pulling up tree roots.
