The Humanities Center is pleased to display an exhibit featuring the work of four Latter-day Saint artists: James Rees, Jessica Day Smith, Sarah Schwieger, and Justin Wheatley. The exhibit was curated by Elizabeth Finlayson, a current BYU Comparative Studies MA student and a graduate of BYU’s Art History & Curatorial Studies program.
Elizabeth was inspired to create this exhibit during a time when she found herself reevaluating her faith and sense of self. She offered the following insight into what motivated the exhibit:
“I was hanging on by a thread, and my life seemed to be a tangled mess that I couldn’t pull apart; despite my trials, though, I experienced a series of miracles when I was able to push aside my fears and place my faith in God first. At the same time, I had a community of people rushed to my side when I felt more alone and isolated than ever before. Many others—including strangers—sat with me and told me of their own similar hardships and heartbreak, offering me strength through their experiences. It was in these moments of conquering my fears and having so much love around me that I began to consider this exhibit.
There are two threads that run through our lives: one that we often use to hold ourselves back (our fears), and another that gives us strength and can act a lifeline (our faith). These strings are often messy and tangled, but act as ‘common threads’ that make us human and tie us all together. One thread alone may feel like it can easily break, but when we share stories of our fears and faith with our community, we weave each of our threads together, and they become significantly stronger. The process of overcoming grief and trials is both an individual and social experience—one that we must untangle and then weave together to see a bigger, more beautiful picture.”
She was first drawn to Sarah Schwieger’s Repair series, six multimedia works that depict hands actively engaged with threads to mend their own canvas. The series captures the sometimes painful, messy, and yet colorful and varied process of piecing together one’s soul and sense of self. As Schwieger describes it, the act of repair involves both holding on and letting go—some elements are preserved while others are left behind. In the process, something new is created even as something else is undone.
Another work that caught Elizabeth’s attention was Jessica Day Smith’s painting By Our Mother’s Hand, which portrays a young child sleeping peacefully beneath a large, vibrant patchwork quilt that blankets most of the canvas. She shared the following reflection:
“I chose this piece because bedtime is often an occasion where children are afraid of being left alone and frightened by the unknown that lurks in the dark, yet Smith’s composition instead creates a moment of peace and tranquility that is clearly evident on the sleeping child’s expression. The quilt, made up of a multitude of various colorful shapes, has been stitched together by an adoring mother and offers the safety needed to drift into a land of dreams. To me, each piece of fabric represents the village it takes to raise a child, and how that love and support can help us work towards overcoming our fears to find moments of peace.”
If you’re interested in viewing these and other featured works from this year’s exhibit, please join us on Thursday, April 17th at 3:00 pm in 4101 JFSB. Refreshments will be served.
