ANN MORRIS

Bearing Witness to Nature

Ann Morris, Crossing #5, found fabric, animal remains, porcupine quills, 4.5 x 40 x 9 in

Ann Morris : Bearing Witness to Nature

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Opening Reception: Sunday, Oct 4th, 12-2pm

Artist Talk: Saturday, Oct 17th, 4pm

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We at i.e. are honored to have spent time over the last few months at the studio of Ann Morris to curate a selection of work for this new exhibit : Bearing Witness to Nature.

The breadth and depth of the sculpture produced by Morris over the past 60 years is mind boggling. It is times like this that we wish we had a 6000 sq ft exhibition space rather than 640 sq ft of i.e. gallery. So the honing was done reluctantly but also brought a laser focus to what we would eventually select.

Ann Morris works in a studio on Lummi Island surrounded by a 14 acre woodland sanctuary. The setting informs her sculpture with the balances and cycles of life that one finds in deep nature. Her bronze sculptures that populate these woods speak to the larger dualities of life : the male/female, decay/rebirth, spiritual/physical and the reckoning of these parts into a larger whole.

In the past 2 decades Morris's work has become more fragile, more ephemeral, as she has turned towards the discardings of the natural world around her for her medium. Fallen leaves, pods, tree barks, animal skins, feathers, sea weed and the like have become her materials, taking the place of bronze.

It is from these most recent sculptures that we were inspired to focus on the "Crossings" series of delicate skeletal boats and the "Suspension" series of hanging lanterns of shredded found fabric and plant life.

Both selections are hung from the ceiling and create another world with their shadows and play of light in space. Both are somewhat a part of this world and also not, a transition to another place.