OPENING RECEPTION OCTOBER 4, 6 - 8 PM

 

Pythia / Pythoness is a body of work that explores the mythos around the historic Greek oracles. These
oracles were means of consulting with dieities through the Pythia (Greek for priestess, also translated
into the english python). The Pythia were mortal women assigned to commune in particular sacred
places, acting as embodied voices able to take counsel with the divine. More recent historical
discoveries have revealed that the women, often working in caves, were exposed to high levels of
ethylene gases which caused hallucinogenic euphoria but also poisoning. This work is a mixture of
dimensional forms (Vessels) and two dimensional works. The former explores possible containers for
the queries submitted to the oracles: what kind of vessel could hold the substance of questions
concerning power, value, ethics, truth, and best practices? The latter explores the experience of the
women relegated to the dark spaces to commune with the divine. They look at relationships between
intangible matter, emotional permeability, vulnerability and the honor of their station.

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ARTIST STATEMENT: WREN ROSS

My work is the result of taking in, holding and letting out. Not confluence but
metamorphosis/synthesis; nearly always both. The work that comes through is invited in. I am a
conduit, a steward, a medium. Work does not come on command, it is invited in and can choose to
come through or not. This process trumps planning and aesthetic preparation. Narratives arrive all at
once and tell themselves after; forms emerge and colors are channeled through, it is a distracted kind
of meditation that is active but also distant. In this process is is imperative not to be precious with space
or materials, trying and planning are not productive. One safeguard is erasure, obfuscation and the
death of an image by eclipse. I work with what I have, I am respectful but not always patient. I want
the work to have wholeness, unity, cohesion without losing rawness, tenderness, wildness. I want it to
mean something different to each viewer, I want its explanations to be perceived in a way that cannot
be incorrect. I want the work to radiate sensation of all kind, but I want it to be refined enough to also
act politely, humbly and with great sincerity. I want the work to offer a gentle but firm space that asks
the viewer to investigate their own connections with meaning, connection and self-reflection. I do not
want anyone to feel they must “get” the work in order to connect with it. This is in the interest of
maintaining equity and inclusion.

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Instagram: @hunt_the_hare

Website: wren-ross.com