Lisa Holt's work is on the walls of our store, but also scope out our bathrooms. They were thoughtfully designed and created by two more local artists.We thank both Heidi Brown and Outlaw for their great energy and the truly unique flair that they added to both bathrooms.

Featured Artist

Reintroductions

drawings by Mara Baldwin

The English noun, souvenir, comes from the French verb meaning "to

remember." But the French verb, souvenir, more literally translates to something

like 'to come from under' which suggests for me a submersion into the depth of

memory and resurfacing in a place of familiarity. It implies a re-visitation, not the

original experience, but that experience done again. Stories and possessions

are souvenirs, evidence of passage through time. But found at a flea market,

an object once a souvenir from a particular family narrative becomes a part of

a social and phenomenological landscape. The wealth of memory is that it is

fluid and resourceful, with no scarcity in its infinite alteration. By teasing objects

and stories out of the singularity of their original possession we can open up the

possibilities of belonging/s, where we defy the conventions of autonomy to foster

greater notions of collective consciousness. The photograph is one example

of a prop that aids us in this shape-shifting process of discovery, essential to

defining and then redefining who we are. As Roland Barthes writes in Camera

Lucida, "I am the reference of every photograph, and this is what generates my

astonishment in addressing myself to the fundamental question: why is it that I

am alive here and now?" I'm interested in objects and histories that speak of the

tension between simultaneous absence and presence, as evident in the wear

and breakdown of belongings, the fading and reinterpretation of memory and the

conflicting truths of contemporary and historical experience.

Mara Baldwin is an artist, writer, and amateur historian living and

working in Ithaca, NY. For more information on works, please email

grayandgrey@gmail.com.

If you are interested in booking an upcoming show please email art@wafflefrolicking.com