You don’t have to be an avian to appreciate Holly Senn’s latest exhibition, SCAVENGED, currently at Kittredge Gallery on the University of Puget Sound campus. Arriving early at Kittredge Gallery to listen to Holly speak about her latest work, I was captivated by the intricacy of her newest creations. While careful not to copy nature verbatim, Holly uses printed pages torn from discarded library books, glued together, and retorn again in seemingly endless strands of paper woven to create sculptures reminiscent of actual birds nests.
Working from a variety of sources, including personal photographs, observation, and many visits to the Slater Natural History Museum at the University of Puget Sound, Holly creates her art with endlessly woven strips of paper created from her collection of discarded library books. While genre plays little or no role in creating her pieces, age, color, and texture are important factors.
Holly sums up her newest exhibit best when she says, “I am fascinated by how birds collect a variety of materials and bring them together to make nests. In “Scavenged” I explore how knowledge can be re-purposed; I turn text into objects, objects into shelters, and shelters into text by using book pages to create nests. The scavenging and assembling processes of nest building are similar to what I do when I make ephemeral sculptures and installations. I find discarded books, tear out their pages, and then re-fashion them into new structures”.
While you may have missed the opportunity to hear the artist speak about her work, there’s still time to hear the artist speak to you through her work. To find out more about the artist, her work, and the current exhibition, visit Holly’s website www.ryksenn.com
Above photo: Blackbird by Holly Senn
Photo credit: Duncan Price
blog by Mark Hoppmann
SCAVENGED: New work by Holly Senn
October 7-November 9
Kittredge Gallery, the University of Puget Sound
Gallery Hours 10am-5pm M-F, 12pm-5pm, Saturday
For more information and directions: www.pugetsound.edu/kittredge