I REMEMBER WHEN

The Pollinator Art Space is pleased to present, I Remember When, an exhibit focused on nostalgia and moments of the imagination. In thinking about this exhibit, Sabre Esler is focusing on current sentiments from political unrest and economic strife, recognizing we need a space to pause and reflect. Art has the ability to take us there. Looking at past times of protests and war, people crave an escape. In 1934, Shirley Temple sang her signature song, “On the Good Ship Lollipop” with lyrics such as, “It’s a sweet trip to a candy shop, where bon-bons play on the sunny beach of peppermint bay.” These words make us smile, remind us of simple pleasures, and create a carefree moment in our minds.
  

With this exhibit, we hope to take our viewers to that place of simple pleasures; large replicas of childhood treats from Sam Lasseter allow us to laugh at such things as “Purse Candy.” He makes his work for the masses so that everyone can remember being a kid again. Mike Stasny creates postcard-size oil pastel drawings of childhood superheroes. He maintains he is STILL a kid, and that is something to ponder. Shouldn’t we all have a childlike wonder of the world? Artwork that makes us happy brings us hope is part of the human experience. Ilona Anderson, an artist of South African heritage, has created a beautiful montage of her large paintings by reimagining them through a short film created in Procreate from Adobe. She states her process mirrors the way experience accumulates in memory - recognizable forms persist for a time before transforming, merging, disappearing, only to emerge again in new configurations. The whimsical video is like eye-candy with bright colors dancing playfully on the screen as if to say, don’t take it all too seriously, we still need to dance! Chris Moss examines psychological constructs of insecurity and anxiety and realizes it’s better not to fall into a funk, but to laugh at it instead. His curious ubiquitous avatar heads reduce the facial features to the most basic forms of eyes and mouth, yet they have a remarkable capacity to remind us of so much more. In looking, one can see all the hopes and fears through his candy colored heads, as he states, “there are silly and cute, yet redolent of potential and meaning.” Sabre Esler rounds out the exhibit with her latest cloud sculpture of sunset hues. There is something about a sunset that never fails to disappoint.  Although we have seen sunsets often, why is it that we are always amazed and mesmerized when we see it, yet again? Perhaps it is because it gives us hope for a brighter tomorrow.