Slow-Burning Rapture
February 9 – May 3, 2024
Throughout history, humans have crafted stories which grapple with our ever-changing relationships to the natural world. Artists, too, create, dissect and disseminate work which makes sense of our ecological past, present and future. In Slow-Burning Rapture, artists construct personal and communal tales, interrogate nationalist epics and envision post-natural topographies through material play, building multifaceted myths which forecast our human-nature relationship in the Anthropocene.
To achieve this end, electronic waste is woven together to create a river-like installation (Talia Greene); a beloved Finnish myth is theatrically brought to life through styrofoam, wood and salt (Sarah Peoples); animation software and drone footage meld to create a new social model in the form of a cityscape (Tim Portlock); 3D modeling is used to generate colorful, imagined rocks and minerals to “power” our cell phones (JULM Studios); and a sonic broadcast set in the near-distant future envelops the gallery space in sound (Jordan Deal).
The artists in this exhibition employ satire, reverence, trepidation and humor to make their point: that as our planet evolves and our landscapes change, our collective stories will continue to resonate. With vast references from mythology to mysticism and Afrofuturism to worldbuilding, and with nods to beloved creators like Octavia Butler and Joseph Campbell, each artist’s visual and sensory language plays a part in helping unravel the complexities of an altered, rapturous world.
Curated by Kristina Murray and Micah Lockman-Fine
This exhibition is supported by the National Wildlife Federation and the Alliance for Watershed Education’s Art Work Group. The Schuylkill Center Environmental Art Department is supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
Artists
Events
Exhibition Opening: Slow-Burning Rapture
Join the Schuylkill Center for the opening of our brand-new exhibition, Slow-Burning Rapture. In Slow-Burning Rapture, artists dissect and create personal, cultural and nationalistic myths in order to make sense of our ecological future. With vast references from mythology to mysticism and Afrofuturism to worldbuilding, each artist plays a part in helping unravel the complexities of an altered world. At the opening, view the exhibition, meet featured artists and enjoy opening remarks as well as food and beverages.