McMullen Gallery
January 7 - March 5, 2023
Artists Monique Martin and Clint Wilson share a veneration for the power and complexity of nature. Their work contemplates the beauty and sophistication of biological systems (adaptation, mutation, reproduction), which compel living organisms to thrive, however patiently. Amidst this sense of wonder, there are warning signs in their work. Refusal to Yield invites you to slow down and appreciate the delicate and awe-inspiring details of our natural world while considering the precarious balance faced by all living organisms on our planet.
Despite all that is going on in our communities and across the globe, and the challenges that are upon us, we must take time to celebrate and learn from that which continues to thrive.
Monique Martin
“The dandelion is a symbol of resilience and survival. It is disregarded, pulled up tossed away, poisoned; yet it refuses and continues to thrive. The dandelion can be a symbol for healing from emotional pain, physical injury and surviving through all life’s challenges and difficulties. Since the dandelion can thrive in difficult conditions, it is no wonder that people say the flower symbolizes the ability to rise above adversity. Most modern admirers consider it a symbol of fighting through the challenges of life and emerging victorious on the other side. Others use it as a visual reminder of the sun’s power, especially when depression or grief makes it hard to stay sunny. The dandelion flower’s message is to not give up, even if those around you keep trying to get rid of you; stick it out and remember the cheerfulness of a sunny summer’s day when things seem bleak or dark.”
Clint Wilson
The work in this exhibition arose from Wilson’s immersion in the mixed growth forests of the Kunxalas Conservancy on Moresby Island, Haida Gwaii. “There I found new and old growth living side by side - large truncated and rotting feet of centuries old Red Cedar and Sitka Spruce lay crowned by young saplings - and a myriad of fungi decomposing and recomposing the floor beneath me. Intensely irreverent, these new sprouts displayed a remarkable disregard for entropic processes, and I marveled at their resilience. …As my thoughts wandered between clouds and chlorophyll, William Morris’s naïve botanical patterns emerged before me, reaching skyward from the forest floor. His Strawberry Thieves and Sunflowers intertwined upon the new growth as beautifully articulated graffiti, and I then saw too that the skies from this century were complex and vibrant in their hues as well.”
