As Above, So Below - Opening Reception

As Above, So Below
September 8 - November 12

Opening Reception / Meet the Artist: Friday, September 8 / 5-8pm
Free and open to the public
Art Round Town: October 6 + November 3. 5-8pm.*

Artist Statement:

My experience with phenomena such as visual aura, lucid dreams, and hallucinations is the driving force behind my creative practice. Because I am personally aware of the ways in which the brain performs trickery, I am always questioning the nature of human consciousness. Many of my pieces function as direct metaphors representing the line between thoughts and matter; dream and wake; and consciousness and unconsciousness. I am interested in age old questions like, “How do things become alive?” and particularly, “Where do we go when we die?”

My practice is inter-disciplinary and rooted in process. I use stitch resit shibori as a method of drawing. Each work is planned and executed over many months as I grow and extract the pigments from indigo plants that I cultivate. Making marks with shibori allows for an indirect approach to image making. Rather than an active hand, the process allows me to make suggestions for where the mark should be. I set limitations. Define boundaries. Create barriers. But I also provide opportunities for the indigo to take up residence. I guide, coax, and invite my mark. The image slowly emerges, passing through the doorways I open.

Davana Robedee bio:

Davana Robedee is a multi-media artist living in Syracuse, New York. She received an M.F.A from Syracuse University and a B.A. from Southeastern Louisiana University. Her work has been shown in numerous exhibitions including, In a Moment Between Dreams at the Dowd Gallery in Cortland, NY, The Instability of Nothing at Riverviews Art Space in Lynchburg, VA, Climates at View Art Center in Old Forge, NY, and Revival at the AC Institute, NYC. She has participated in residencies at Weissensee School of Art in Berlin and Kimmel Harding Nelson in Nebraska City.

Davana is currently the Program Director at the Schweinfurth Art Center where she works as a curator, oversees programs, and other community events. She also serves on the Syracuse Public Art Commission. As an artist and arts administrator, Davana is interested in cultivating public community arts practices.

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*Art 'Round Town is a gallery walk in Portsmouth on the first Friday of each month.

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