My work considers the complicated relationship between people and nature. My research begins by collecting found natural objects on daily walks. It is followed by documentation, organization, and finally implementation of the collected archive. While collecting, exploring, and creating, I encounter my own vitiation in nature. This leads me to nurture what is around me and long for what we have lost. My feelings of anemoia extend to nature that I have not encountered - extinct animals, undiscovered wildlife, and habitats that natural disasters absorb. The archive has a life of its own. It is constantly growing, shrinking, and transforming with each discovery and application to the creative process. It leads me to question people’s interference in and mediation of our environments.
The items that I have collected are scanned, ordered, and labeled. I have ordered them in a way that makes sense to me, but still compels the viewer to search for their own organized logic. These same scans are digitally manipulated, layered, and then used as reference to create drawn and painted collages. The collages are my recognition of memory and loss. The loss in nature can be caused by habitat destruction, pollution, the introduction of invasive species, or climate change. In this same ephemeral way, I have created a garden of unfired clay with orbs of natural detritus encased in ice hanging above. The orbs are slowly melting marking time and erosion. The display speaks to the memory of what was and the impermanence of life.
My work, is influenced by the Dutch Vanitas paintings from the mid-1600’s. These paintings were an ordered and controlled use of nature that were meant to convey a message to the viewer. The message was that “life is transient” and the meaning of Vanitas is “in vain”. I have also been influenced by photos of natural disasters, the book Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake, the work of Robin Wall Kimmerer, walks in natural environments, and travel.
The items that I have collected are scanned, ordered, and labeled. I have ordered them in a way that makes sense to me, but still compels the viewer to search for their own organized logic. These same scans are digitally manipulated, layered, and then used as reference to create drawn and painted collages. The collages are my recognition of memory and loss. The loss in nature can be caused by habitat destruction, pollution, the introduction of invasive species, or climate change. In this same ephemeral way, I have created a garden of unfired clay with orbs of natural detritus encased in ice hanging above. The orbs are slowly melting marking time and erosion. The display speaks to the memory of what was and the impermanence of life.
My work, is influenced by the Dutch Vanitas paintings from the mid-1600’s. These paintings were an ordered and controlled use of nature that were meant to convey a message to the viewer. The message was that “life is transient” and the meaning of Vanitas is “in vain”. I have also been influenced by photos of natural disasters, the book Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake, the work of Robin Wall Kimmerer, walks in natural environments, and travel.
Tracy Smoll
M.F.A. Purdue University
B.A. Art Education, Art History, 2003
Exhibitions and Awards
2024, A.lure, TAF Gallery, Lafayette, IN
2021, Anemoia, Purdue Galleries, West Lafayette
2020, Detrit-us, Artist's Own, Lafayette, IN
2019, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2018 Guest on Art Tap Podcast, Lafayette, IN
2016, Athens Art Gallery, Crawfordsville, IN
2012, Three Women, Three Stories, One Show, Group Exhibition, Crawfordsville, IN
2007, Traveling Adventures, Joint Exhibition, Crawfordsville, IN
2003, Ralph Beelke Memorial Award of Excellence, Purdue University 2002, Purdue University Undergraduate Show
2001, Westwood Exhibition, Purdue University
2001, Still-Life Project, Purdue University
Curated Exhibitions and Published Writings
2002, Treasures from the Tomb
2003, Selections from the Thomas D. Slater Collection
2003, African Masks of the West Guinea Coast
2003, Essay, “African Masks of the West Guinea Coast” Catalogue Internships
2003, Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
2001-2003, Purdue University Galleries
2004, Article, “Self-Portraits and Story”, SchoolArts Magazine
Scholarships and Workshops
2019, Delta Phi Delta Grant, Purdue University
2018, Delta Phi Delta Grant, Purdue University
2018, Promise Grant, Purdue University
Residencies and Workshops
Arrowmont, Paul Wandless
Archie Bray, Beth Cavener.Tip Toland
Teaching Experience
2021-Present, West Lafayette High School
2018-2021, Introduction to Ceramics,Purdue University
M.F.A. Purdue University
B.A. Art Education, Art History, 2003
Exhibitions and Awards
2024, A.lure, TAF Gallery, Lafayette, IN
2021, Anemoia, Purdue Galleries, West Lafayette
2020, Detrit-us, Artist's Own, Lafayette, IN
2019, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2018 Guest on Art Tap Podcast, Lafayette, IN
2016, Athens Art Gallery, Crawfordsville, IN
2012, Three Women, Three Stories, One Show, Group Exhibition, Crawfordsville, IN
2007, Traveling Adventures, Joint Exhibition, Crawfordsville, IN
2003, Ralph Beelke Memorial Award of Excellence, Purdue University 2002, Purdue University Undergraduate Show
2001, Westwood Exhibition, Purdue University
2001, Still-Life Project, Purdue University
Curated Exhibitions and Published Writings
2002, Treasures from the Tomb
2003, Selections from the Thomas D. Slater Collection
2003, African Masks of the West Guinea Coast
2003, Essay, “African Masks of the West Guinea Coast” Catalogue Internships
2003, Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
2001-2003, Purdue University Galleries
2004, Article, “Self-Portraits and Story”, SchoolArts Magazine
Scholarships and Workshops
2019, Delta Phi Delta Grant, Purdue University
2018, Delta Phi Delta Grant, Purdue University
2018, Promise Grant, Purdue University
Residencies and Workshops
Arrowmont, Paul Wandless
Archie Bray, Beth Cavener.Tip Toland
Teaching Experience
2021-Present, West Lafayette High School
2018-2021, Introduction to Ceramics,Purdue University