Atrium Exhibitions
Amy Babinec
Subsidence
Series
Atrium Exhibition
Feb. 14-March 8, 2012
Reception: Thursday, Feb. 16, 2-4 p.m.
This project, called Subsidence, depicts the depths of
underground coal mines. They are part of a body of work that grew from Amy
Babinec’s ongoing interest in subsidence, a phenomenon of geological instability
caused by collapsed underground mines. Many coal mines in southern Illinois
(where the artist spent her childhood) have been abandoned. Buildings and fields
on top of them may suddenly collapse, leaving cracks and craters. Babinec is
fascinated by the metaphoric possibilities of this sudden collapse and hidden
danger.
“In my research, I found southern
Illinois coal mines from the early 1900s were essentially
organic and unplanned “room and pillar” mines, which dig along a
coal seam but leave segments of coal to hold up the roof. Over
time, the weight of hundreds of feet of rock above the mine will
cause the “pillars” of coal to crack and the roof to collapse.
The recent Chilean mine disaster prompted me to research coal
mine collapse disasters in southern Illinois. I created these
drawings to imagine the geologic formations before and after a
mine collapse.”
“The drawings, made with
colored ink and acrylic on watercolor paper, explore the
abstract possibilities and figure-ground relationship of these
mines. Like the mine shapes, the soft bands of color lose their
geological context and resemble streaks of cloud, jet trails,
sound waves, or aerial photography, rather than solid rock. The
transparency of the ink gives the painting a glow, similar to a
Helen Frankenthaler painting or a stained glass window. In some
drawings, the overlapping layers of ink create the illusion of
solidity, against which the shapes alternate between negative
and positive space. I enjoy the lack of control and element of
chance that pouring ink provides, reminiscent of the unseen and
chaotic forces underground.”
Artist Website:
www.amybabinec.com
Back to Top
PURCHASE
EVENT TICKETS
JOIN
OUR EMAIL LIST
