Wave Pool's Upcoming Exhibit Sees Two Artists' Connection to Ohio River Valley Region

Two artists from the Ohio River Valley Region explore their connection to place through photograph, sculpture and other media in an upcoming Wave Pool exhibit.

Kith and Kin: Things Well Known runs from May 11 to June 22 at the Wave Pool gallery in Camp Washington. The two-person exhibition was curated by Wave Pool’s curatorial resident Lindsey Cummins and features work by Kacey Slone of rural Indiana and Rachael Banks of Louisville, whose subject is often her family on their Bagdad, Ky. property.

“This exhibition attempts to challenge stereotypes that have been set and negotiated amongst artists' who work in the region,” a Wave Pool press release states. “While place and the communities who come to inhabit it remain integral, Kith and Kin challenges the way artists and their work have been narrowly situated within discourse on the region, constricting them down to exemplars of a greater American Western mythology that is fascinated with the iconography of rural life.”

Pieces in the exhibit examine the relationship between person, place and communal structures through family, home, folklore and the passage of time. Casual moments of everyday life are frozen in a photograph or pulled from memory through familiar objects as Slone and Banks consider a sense of belonging.

“Grappling with who they are, through where they are and who they’re with, both Slone and Banks traverse close quarters with a soft touch — neither surrendering to sentimentality nor indifference,” the press release says.

Artist and educator, Banks, often photographs people and scenes around her family’s home in Bagdad, Ky., she also “compulsively” uses deer and black dogs as the focal point of her work. In “Life is Pain,” a young man is seen stoic and well lit before a silhouetted background and colorful sunset. A tattoo on his stomach reads, "life is pain." Another piece shows a woman standing in nature holding a deer carcass. The intimate images allow the viewer to inspect the individuals' personhood without external factors.

Slone is also a teacher and a gallery manager for Harrison County Arts. She uses objects to connect with the viewer through collective memory. In a piece titled “A Friend for the Unsent,” a pillow and a broken ceiling fan unite in a stark contrast. In another installment, Slone uses a tattered childhood blanket and hangs it from a wooden post. The work evokes nostalgic longing.

On May 11, an opening reception for Kith and Kin: Things Well Known will take place at Wave Pool. The exhibit runs through June 22. An artist talk will take place on May 30 from 6-7 p.m. at the gallery. Visit wavepoolgallery.org for more information.