Barr Gallery Exhibition: Mapping Loss

Ashley Hunt

FINA-A457

B.Kutis

October 2017

Mapping Loss

Upon walking into the Indiana University Southeast’s Barr Gallery, there is something rather peaceful and quite beautiful about Jennifer Palmer’s exhibition of Mapping Loss. I honestly could not tell you how long I spent in the gallery the first day it opened. Even after seeing it a few times, I still go back and I am mesmerized by her pieces. It is so easy and calming to get lost in her pieces. Just like the piece below Mapping Above 8, mixed media on polyethylene, 2017.

Jennifer Palmer, Mapping Above 8, 2017.

This exhibition is quite successful in communicating a deep loss found within the artist. Palmer’s quality of work is high in the attention to detail, textures, and different uses of media.  A large portion of the works displayed are mixed media. She works with acrylic paints, many different types of inks, ink and gel pens, graphite, charcoal, coffee and wine stains, and much more. She works on paper, poplar and polyethylene. Her change in scale is noticeable. It ranges from 3”x 3” to her biggest piece 59”x 42”.  Palmer creates smaller pieces to captivate the viewer, to show the intimacy of the time and thought in each piece.

            Palmer’s pieces display a creatively thoughtful and emotional abstracted map. She provides some information that leads you to think more on this exhibition. From Palmer’s artist statement, “The artworks feature a variety of media that explore the meditative process of repetitive mark-making juxtaposed against colorful moments of unrestrained shapes...These pieces are about exploring the emotional process of grieving by creating artworks that are personal maps of this journey. The artwork in the mapping series is bringing me closer to finding structure in the chaos of loss.”

Jennifer Palmer, 2017.

            Above shows 3 walls of the Barr Gallery showcasing Palmer’s work. One of my favorite pieces, Mapping Above 8, mixed media on polyethylene, 2017, is full of color, texture, and stippling. The large chunks of mixed media (acrylic paint) and various heights and shapes of a thick texture that is displayed across the polyethylene. The contrasting colors lead the viewer’s eye around the circle and the dots tell another story. Most of the pieces have this form of stippling. These series of dots have a grand connection to the artist. A significance not known to many.  Each dot represents a tear shed for the loss of her Mother and every thought she has had of her mother.

Palmer’s creation of abstracted shapes help calm her in the chaos of the death of her mother. Albeit she spent many nights in her studio creating each dot, she has found a peace at times. There are many hidden bits of information in the titles and number of pieces in Palmer’s exhibition. Mapping Above 65, mixed media on poplar, 2017. These 65 pieces represent the age her mother passed. Her exhibition definitely showed a deep wound. In the glass case, there is a plethora of rocks. Above those rocks, there lies a smaller pile with feathers and a bird’s nest. The symbolism here is heartbreaking. The larger pile of rocks is how much her mother weighed before her death to liver cancer. The smaller pile is her weight in ashes after cremation.

Jennifer Palmer’s exhibition of Mapping Loss tells a difficult, sad story of loss and trying to find peace. This storm of chaos is calmed by her beautiful, emotional artistic expression.