The Narrative of Things

About

Curated by Tamara Rafkin, "The Narrative of Things" features artworks by Kathleen Vance, Norm Magnusson, Shari Diamond, and Tamara Rafkin that look at the relationship between narrative and objects bound together.

This exhibition explores this concept from different facets through each artist’s own exploration of objects, stories, and experiences. In Kathleen Vance’s, Travelling Landscapes, she builds lush landscapes in various travel cases that speak to the object they inhabit, thus creating discussions about our relationships with different environments. In Norm Magnusson’s, Norm’s Memory Sale, he has built stories around forlorn objects that he owns and has decided to let go of – the stories may or may not be factual and it is partially this combination that creates a dialogue. In Shari Diamond’s, 60 Year Project, is their reflection of memories through the portal of snapshots from their life begun as a celebration as they entered their 6th decade. The snapshots are altered via various processes that in effect mirror the way memory plays with those moments and those stories over time. In Tamara Rafkin’s, Lost&Found series, she has been documenting human kindness and empathy towards others by how people across cultural boundaries and countries treat the objects they find that someone has lost. Rafkin finds the act of empathy towards others to be the same regardless of the location.

Rafkin who also curated, The Narrative of Things, for Holland Tunnel Gallery states: “From landscapes that create stories to stories created around household items, reflections on one’s own life stories and stories lost and found, there are so many narratives we build around the objects that we interact with. Both the objects and the stories all become about us and the human condition. We are narrative creatures, storytelling is part of our souls and connects us all - sometimes through our things.”