Dreadful Unimaginings
Flex Space Gallery
June 14 – August 2, 2019
Opening reception: June 14th, 5-7pm
Artists:
Samantha Funk (UMF ’14)
Alana Knapp (UMF ’14)
Jazmin Knapp (USM ’16)
Mal Smith (UMF ’14)
Tobey Tozier (UMF 14)
Ashley (Lessner) Wilkins (UMF ’14)
Exhibition Statement:
Lurking at the dark and hazy crossroads of beauty and grotesquery is the monstrous. Equal parts appalling and morbidly appealing, our collective cultural fascination with monsters is deeply rooted in artistic tradition; witches, evil beasts, and mythical creatures of the unknown have been subjects of artists and storytellers for centuries. What is it about them that we find so mesmerizing?
This exhibition surveys a medley of monstrous locales; tackling abhorrent acts of violence, environmental havoc, and hoarding, as well as perceptions of selfhood and interpersonal communication. Dreadful Unimaginings explores the myriad meanings the monster conjures, from the depths of the imagined to the insidious dwelling within the mundane.
Artist Bios:
Alana Knapp
Alana Knapp is an artist based in the Western Mountains of Maine, where she received her degree in art from the University of Maine at Farmington in 2014. A fat, flamboyant feminist; her work primarily deals with consumptive cultural expectation, the body, and the faceted complexities of personal identity, particularly that of “being female.” Alana has also partnered with the Literacy Volunteers of Franklin and Somerset Counties to illustrate books for students in their tutoring program. She currently resides in Farmington, Maine with a burgeoning bevy of flora (houseplants) and fauna (spiders) as well as a large Liberace bobble-head.
Jazmin Knapp
Hailing from the far reaches of Freeman Township, Maine, Jazmin Knapp has always had a strong love of both nature and art. It was while she was studying art at the University of Southern Maine that she began to combine these two loves. Her work primarily focuses on the intersections of humanity and the environment; how we impact our own bodies and the world around us. Though she received her digital media degree in 2016, Jazmin also favors recycling unusual materials to give them a new artistic lifecycle. Some of Jazmin’s work was featured in the 2018 alumni show “Recollections” at the University of Southern Maine. She currently resides in Westbrook, ME, with her very supportive boyfriend and her ever expanding collection of rescued hardware store plants.
Samantha Funk
Samantha Funk is a Maine based sculptor, mixed media and installation artist who has been interested in investigating the control and power of the mundane on the human psyche since her time at the University of Maine at Farmington. With much of her work, she tackles the ideas of social constructs, trauma, sameness, and consumption. She investigates each experience and how it rips away different levels of control from the individual. She takes the internal experience and magnifies it externally to reveal and demonstrate the perceived gravity of the situation and how it often defines an aspect of our personality or mentality.
She is currently studying for her master’s degree in Leadership at the University of Southern Maine with a focus on Women in Leadership. As an artist and a feminist, she looks forward to incorporating all areas of her studies to better inform both her academic and artistic work. She currently lives in Scarborough, Maine with her partner and their two, overly curious and rambunctious cats.
Mal Smith
Mal Smith currently resides in Gorham, Maine, and graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington with the class of 2014. Their work is predominantly sculpture and installation. Mal is interested in investigating the human connection with inanimate objects and memory after loss.
Tobey Tozier
Born in central Maine, Tobey Tozier is a transgender filmmaker whose work explores shifts in gender identity and its effects on interpersonal communication. As a social entrepreneur, Tobey has founded multiple projects focused on raising awareness for the transgender community and helping trans people live more positive lives. Tobey graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington in 2014 with a B.A. in Arts Administration with a focus in Art and Visual Culture and now lives in Gorham, Maine with his partner, Mal Smith.
Ashley Wilkins
A Maine based Fiber artist, Ashley Wilkins has been a crafter since the early 2000s. However, it was while studying at the University of Maine at Farmington that her love of crafting evolved and melded into her studies to become an Artist. Despite focusing on traditional crafting methods, most of her work contains very unconventional materials. Elaborate hand crafted pieces are made from everyday and disposable materials like plastic bags, paper towels, and even dryer lint.
After graduating at UMF in 2014, Ashley’s work has been featured at the Railroad Square
Cinema: “Art in the Lobby” in 2015 and the L.A. (Lewiston/Auburn) Art Walk in 2017.
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