A Constellation of Instances

We encounter constellations as pre-determined. But, if we look again they can be reinscribed with infinite variability. Just as we can redraw the lines between stars, we do not have to perceive personal narratives composed of memories, spaces, and times as fixed. The work of the seven artists gathered in A Constellation of Instances invite us to reroute our narrations of reality. The work on view challenges static modes of storytelling that value long dominant perspectives, moving us instead towards a position of dynamic storytelling which emphasizes the need for a multiplicity of perspectives. From this frame of reference, the works acknowledge that circumstances change how we talk about ourselves and the world around us at specific times in our lives.

The works in a Constellation of Instances encourage us to conceive personal narration as a subjective construct that can be altered just as it was created. Challenging the qualities that originally made narrative connections meaningful these works ask: How can we assemble stories from the remains of singular viewpoints that reflect our more nuanced reality? And, if our collective reality is the result of the stories we tell ourselves and others, how is it shaped by the events we decide to include or exclude? 

Featuring work by artists selected through portfolio reviews by the SAIC Exhibitions Committee: Alina Orlov (MFA 2020), Bun Stout (MFA 2020), E. Saffronia Downing (MFA 2020), Jennifer Traina-Dorge (MFA 2020), Matan Golan (MFA 2020), Olivia Alonso Gough (MFA 2020), and Yunhee Min (BFA 2019). 

Curated by Graduate Curatorial Assistants: Constanza Mendoza-Guerra (MA 2020) and Shannon Hebert Waldman (Dual MA 2020).