lydia cheshewalla

An installation of natural materials such as shale rock, pine cones, and acorn hats is arranged on a white gallery wall in a way that interprets particle collision, the big bang, and evolutionary timelines.
A detail of the previous installation's center. Shale rock has been arranged as if filling a circle, then outlined with pine cones. On each side of the circle, pine cones have been arranged in crescent shapes.
A detail of the previous installation. Maple samaras have been arranged into a pattern around an acorn cap.
An overall picture of a the gallery at Lake Forest College, showing Lydia's ephemeral installation on the back wall. Chris Pappan's work in displayed on an adjacent wall and a large wooden beam intersects Lydia's artwork on one side.
An overall look at the first display case containing an arrangement of items Lydia has gathered and carried through life with her. These include brass spheres, an ornate wooden spice rack, loess soil in a jar, crinoids from the Arkansas River, and keys.
A detail of what is contained inside the first display case. In main focus is a heart-shaped brass birdcage lying on it's side, containing spherical nesting dolls designed to look like the planet and the universe, adorned with a rope containing many keys.
A detail from the first display case. There is slab of marble adorned with jars containing crinoids and other geological makers of time. There is a mirrored box that is open and containing a rock, a feather, and a milkweed pod.
An overall look at the second display case containing an arrangement of items Lydia has gathered and carried through life with her. These include mirrors, rocks from various locations, ecological emissaries, heart-shaped brass boxes, and butterfly wings.
A detail from the second display case. There is a series of vials containing natural materials from a long roadtrip along the southern border of the US. They are displayed at varying heights.
A detail of what is contained inside the second display case. Two heart-shaped brass boxes are lying open next to one another. Each contains an element like seeds or charcoal. A box sits against the back of the case and contains many trinkets.

from

November 14 - December 10, 2022

Sonnenschein Gallery
Durand Art Institute
Lake Forest College


This exhibition seeks to explore the personal origins, experiences, and concept of being from a place, of identifying with a place—whether physical or intangible, emotional or familial, ethnic, racial, linguistic, cultural or conceptual. The artists explore diverse themes through a rich variety of mediums including video, photography, mixed media, tapestry and animation, works on paper and plant life.


Featuring the work of Chicago artists Lydia Cheshewalla, Azadeh Gholizadeh, Chris Pappan, Diana Torres, and Derrick Woods-Morrow. 


Photos: Tom Van Eynde

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