reviews – Jeanette Joy Harris

Damián Ortega at Fruitmarket Gallery

On 4 July 1785, Edinburgh-native James Hutton read from his book ‘Theory of the Earth; or an Investigation of the Laws observable in the Composition, Dissolution, and Restoration of Land upon the Globe’ at a meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. This work became the foundation of modern geology and so Edinburgh’s Fruitmarket Gallery…
Read more: Damián Ortega at Fruitmarket Gallery
Katie Schwab’s Together in a Room | thisistomorrow

Katie Schwab’s exhibition ‘Together in a Room’, currently showing at Collective Gallery in Edinburgh, brings together voices and histories spanning over a century through an installation of textiles, video and furniture. The exhibition marks the culmination of Schwab’s participation in Collective Gallery’s ‘Satellites Program’ – an open submission initiative which provides artists with development and mentoring…
Read more: Katie Schwab’s Together in a Room | thisistomorrow
Photographer Marta Soul Unapologetically Kisses 18 Different Men In Romantic Scenes | Beautiful Decay

Check out my article on Marta Soul at BeautifulDecay Marta Soul’s alter-ego unapologetically kisses 18 different men in the photography series “Idilios.” The red headed protagonist moves from idealized scene to idealized scene engaging in a single kiss with a different suitor each time. Soul says on her site, “immediate satisfaction is found in the kiss.…
Read more: Photographer Marta Soul Unapologetically Kisses 18 Different Men In Romantic Scenes | Beautiful Decay
Resistance and Persistence at Ingleby Gallery | thisistomorrow

Check out my article on the group show “Resistance and Persistence” at Ingleby Gallery. Ingleby Gallery’s current group exhibition ‘Resistance and Persistence’ takes its title from an essay by Sean Scully, which speaks of his dialogue with a small Giorgio Morandi painting at the Tate Gallery. In Scully’s mind, Morandi’s work stubbornly refuses to engage…
Read more: Resistance and Persistence at Ingleby Gallery | thisistomorrow
Julien Previeux’s Video Uses Dancing Lightsabers To Show Us The Power Of Gesture | Beautiful Decay

Check out my article on Julien Previeux at BeautifulDecay: Julien Previeux’s Patterns of Life uses dancing lightsabers to reveal the simplicity and power of gesture. This 15 minute video is a highly choreographed work whose opening section uses light to uncover the essence of human movement. Dancers wired with lights illuminate the darkness and reveal the simplicity of movement.…
Read more: Julien Previeux’s Video Uses Dancing Lightsabers To Show Us The Power Of Gesture | Beautiful Decay
Mayan Toledano’s Evocative Photographs Of Adolescent Girls Capture The Melancholy Of Burgeoning Womanhood | Beautiful Decay

Check out my article on Mayan Toledo at BeautifulDecay Mayan Toledano uses evocative photographs of adolescent girls to show the melancholy of burgeoning womanhood. Combining glittered rainbow and unicorn imagery with loneliness and frustration, Toledano takes us behind a nymphette’s bedroom door. {Click here for entire article}
Read more: Mayan Toledano’s Evocative Photographs Of Adolescent Girls Capture The Melancholy Of Burgeoning Womanhood | Beautiful Decay
Beauty, decadence and decay: “The Syphilis of Sisyphus” by Mary Reid Kelley

On the Winter/Spring edition of Gulf Coast Journal, we see a black and white Southern Belle coiffed, painted, and dressed for the evening. What we find out later is that Sisyphus, the protagonist of Mary Reid Kelley‘s writing/video/art piece “The Syphilis of Sisyphus,” is a prostitute ready to pick up customers and desperately trying to…
Read more: Beauty, decadence and decay: “The Syphilis of Sisyphus” by Mary Reid Kelley
Lynn Lane Captures Dancing Spirits In Mid Motion In His Haunting Photographs | Beautiful Decay

Check out my Beautifuldecay.com review of Lynn Lane’s choreographed photos at Wynne Home Arts Center, a 19th century mansion located in Huntsville, Texas, 70 miles north of Houston.
Read more: Lynn Lane Captures Dancing Spirits In Mid Motion In His Haunting Photographs | Beautiful Decay
Joanna Black Tells us What Ugly Doesn’t Look Like | Beautiful Decay

Check out this review of Joanna Black’s “Black Teeth White Heart” on Beautifuldecay.com. Joanna Black, a photographer, entrepreneur and collector in Edinburgh, UK, uses surrealist images to show us what ugly doesn’t look like. Her “Black Teeth White Heart” series is a compilation of Black’s nose, eyes, lips, and even toe nails in a style…
Read more: Joanna Black Tells us What Ugly Doesn’t Look Like | Beautiful Decay
Julia Sinelnikova Asks Us if Fairies are Good or Bad | Beautiful Decay

Check out this review I wrote of Julia Sinelnikova’s “Black Fairy Nest Egg” at Beautifuldecay.com. In her exhibition “Black Fairy Egg Nest,” Julia Sinelnikova asks us if fairies are good or bad. Experienced as a ritual site with candles and stones, “Black Fairy Egg Nest” feels like a secret den where winged creatures could emerge at any moment. The…
Read more: Julia Sinelnikova Asks Us if Fairies are Good or Bad | Beautiful Decay
Thomas Cian Merges Portraits With Nature | Beautiful Decay

Check out my article at Beautifuldecay.com on Thomas Cian: Milan-artist Thomas Cian merges portraits with nature in his highly detailed drawings. Utilizing graphite and marker, Cian captures delicate expressions in his subjects which range from indifferent to melancholy. His ability to render life-like images of birds, flowers, and landscapes into these portraits create surrealistic drawings that speak as…
Read more: Thomas Cian Merges Portraits With Nature | Beautiful Decay
Heather Dewey-Hagborg Uses DNA From Chewing Gum To Create 3D Portraits | Beautiful Decay

Check out my article on Heather Dewey-Hagborg on BeautifulDecay: Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg uses DNA extracted from items like chewing gum and cigarettes to create three-dimensional portraits. For her project, “Stranger Visions,” Dewey-Hagborg collected discarded trash from the streets of Brooklyn, New York and sequenced them at a biotechnology lab. Through this process, she was able to isolate…
Read more: Heather Dewey-Hagborg Uses DNA From Chewing Gum To Create 3D Portraits | Beautiful Decay
Yoan Capote’s Landscapes Made Of Thousands Of Fishhooks Illustrate The Complexities Of Life In Cuba | Beautiful Decay

Check out my article on Yoan Capote at BeautifulDecay.com: Cuba’s 3,570 mile coastline, nestled in the Caribbean Ocean has seen everything from glamorous vacation resorts to the horrors of revolution. But as Cuban artist, Yoan Capoteshows us in his Isla (Island) series, the heart of Cuba is her relationship to the water. Capote’s collection of canvases illustrate the…
Read more: Yoan Capote’s Landscapes Made Of Thousands Of Fishhooks Illustrate The Complexities Of Life In Cuba | Beautiful Decay
Juan Ford Paintings Of A Duct Taped Post-Apocalyptic World | Beautiful Decay

Check out my article on Juan Ford at BeautifulDecay Juan Ford uses duct tape to piece together a post-apocalyptic world. By connecting elements like sticks, “fragile” tape, leaves, chains, and sports gear, his paintings foreshadow a future where nature and plasticity merge as human beings fight for survival. {Click here for full article}
Read more: Juan Ford Paintings Of A Duct Taped Post-Apocalyptic World | Beautiful Decay
Kunihiko Nohara Creates Sculptures That Hang Between The Earth And Sky | Beautiful Decay

Check my review of Japanese sculptor Kunihiko Nohara at Beautiful Decay: Kunihiko Nohara creates lofty sculptures whose subjects hover between the earth and sky. Using a single piece of wood for each of his pieces, Nohara replaces clothing with clouds making his figures seem ready to take flight in a hot air balloon. {click here for…
Read more: Kunihiko Nohara Creates Sculptures That Hang Between The Earth And Sky | Beautiful Decay