The origin of life, leading to the birth of Eve according to the Old Testament, is a continuing cultural benchmark, a moral tale with surviving socio-mythological influence. This prominent biblical narrative forms the framework for Lannie Hart’s Birth Of Eve installation, which will be on view at SOHO20 Chelsea Gallery from April 28 – May 23, 2015. The exhibition explores how, through the ages, the story has continued to effect cultural attitudes towards women, the byproduct of humanity’s split.
Hart began her career as asculptor using cloth, foam, rubber, plastic, paper, fibers and similar material that are supple and nonrigid. They can also be made out of natural materials if combined to make a nonrigid object. Hart was raised in Lawerenceville, Virginia and is a graduate of Virginia Commonweath University. She has shown her work at the Museum for Contemporary Crafts in NYC as well as at the Katonah Museum, Richmond Museum of Art and The Sculptors Guild, Brooklyn.
Even in a modern society where as individuals we are guided by experience rather than romanticism, the belief in creationism and woman’s responsibility in her fall from grace still stands. Hart contemplates the idea that Eve’s identity has become the female identity; women are seductive, ravenous, and susceptible to temptation.
The installation on view is accompanied and heightened by a steady flow of water symbolizing the need to hydrate life; its stability emphasized by a bed of rocks and pebbles while airborne leaves represent the inevitability of change. The installation takes an interesting approach when wrestling with the comparison of nature via mythology in regards to the beginnings of humanity.
SOHO20 Chelsea Gallery will be showing this installation from April 28 – May 23, 2015.