MYTHOS
Myths define our world.
These deep rooted and inherited stories frame our systems of belief, impact our choices, inform our definitions, and guide our collective behaviors. Myths exist at the roots of human existence-- and define the core of McColl Center’s current exhibition. Through the works of the Winter/Spring 2023 Artists-in-Residence, Mythos explores how these narratives and long-carried stories are embraced, interpreted, and challenged.
Printmaker and performance artist Zuzanna Dyrda, Ph.D. (Wroclaw, Poland) questions narratives around printmaking. Her body in action becomes both graphic substrate and printing press, pushing the boundaries of long-established lines that have traditionally defined print and practice.
Painter and installation artist Shanequa Gay (Atlanta, GA) draws upon ritual and personal memory, storytelling, fantasy, and the deep well of southern black traditions found in her hometown of Atlanta. Her paintings and installations combine symbols from Western mythologies with those that give African-Ascendant Womyn their own magic and Divinity in Self.
Will Jenkins’ (Charlotte, NC) photographs are highly influenced by endemic styles and a culture developed uniquely in the South. Borrowing from cultural narratives, he reveals truths and constructs mythologies around his subjects through works imbued with familiar warm colors and inherited symbols of status found familiarly in the South. Will documents the world around him, suggests layered meanings, and offers interpretive opportunities by including references in his works to Southern elements he idolizes.
Tadeo Muleiro’s (Buenos Aires, Argentina) works bridge the past and the present, linking mythologies of ancestral culture with images from Argentina and Latin America in works of contemporary art. Mythological archetypes and modern references from pop culture science fiction movies and comic books are interwoven within large sculptural textiles in his works, manifesting ancient imaginary beings as contemporary forms.
Zuzanna Dyrda’s Artist-in-Residence is in partnership with UNC Charlotte.
Will Jenkins’ Artist-in-Residence is in partnership with Atrium Health.
Tadeo Muliero’s Artist-in-Residence is generously supported by Windgate Foundation.
Mythos is generously supported by Bank of America.