Versions of Truth is a series of sculptures made of clear acrylic panels and linen and polyester thread. Utilizing the transparent properties of the materials to reflect and refract light to create illusions of mass and matter, the work centers on double entendre – how perception can shape and cloud perspective, resulting in a variety truths.
Coupled and Inseparable
open: 14 x 15 x 15 in.
closed: 14 x 7 x 2 in.
acrylic, linen thread
edition: 3
CONTACT FOR PRICE
Commitment is black and white: either you’re all in or you’re not. That means loving with abandon, joining forces against threats, and being each others’ advocates. We share each other’s fears and greatest joys, becoming a unit, seemingly inseparable. But unlike Juno’s swans, humans can disappoint and hurt – even breathe a last breath – leaving us threadbare but still attached: loving with a broken heart, hating but still wanting, not able to let go when it’s clearly time. There is joy in being intertwined with another person; we devour it like ravenous dogs. And there is a kind of ecstasy in unravelling, a requiem for the letting go. Both strike with the same fierceness and leave us in awe of the human condition.
Included in the Texas National 2016 exhibition, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX, March 2016; and Versions of Truth, Gallery 1740, Atlanta, GA, 2018.
Down to a Science
closed: 20 x 6 x 3 in.
open: 20 x 13 x 15 in.
acrylic, linen thread
Nothing is ever as simple as we think it might be. On the other hand, we often overcomplicate things to the point of absurdity before we find a simpler way to do it. Down to a Science utilizes concrete material and reflection to create the illusion of mass and energy. Which is which? That’s for viewers to decide.
Included in the Ley Lines exhibition, Hammond Hall Gallery, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL. Oct 2015; Versions of Truth, Gallery 1740, Atlanta, GA, 2018; and Page by Page at the Hudgens Center for the Arts, Atlanta, GA, 2019.
Does It Matter Atom Smasher
closed: 8 x 6 x 2.5 in.
open: 8 x 13 x 13 in.
acrylic, linen thread, polyester glow-in-the-dark thread
How do we explain what we cannot see? Is the lack of or presence of evidence grounds for truth? And how does that translate to our non-material world? Scientists at CERN use the Large Hadron Collider to understand matter and anti-matter – a dark invisibleness, the existence of which is still up for debate. Does It Matter Atom Smasher—shaped similarly to the collider—uses light and the absence of it to address the complexity of these questions, revealing the relativity of perspective. What is evident in the light cannot be seen in the dark, and the inverse is true, begging the questions which is the real version? anddoes it really matter?
Included in Sights and Insights, Spruill Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 2016; andVersions of Truth, Gallery 1740, Atlanta, GA, 2018.
In the collection of Messiah College Murray Library special collections.
Smiling Sweetly She Says
closed: 10 x 5 x 3 in.
open: 10 x 5 x 3 in.
acrylic, linen thread, polyester thread
Smiles are like safety nets. We use them to convey that everything is okay. We build them into all of our communication. They are a lifesaver in case of emergency. We depend on them to give us courage. We trust them. But the trouble with a smile is that we never truly know whether it is a trusted handshake, a polite nod, or a cover-up.
Included in the Gallery Director Invitational exhibition, Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, CO, 2015.
In the collection of the Rhode Island School of Design.
The Belt of Orion’s Never Wife
closed: 14 x 7 x 2 in.
open: 14 x 15 x 15 in.
acrylic, linen thread
edition: 2
Nothing gained is nothing lost, or so we tell ourselves when our best laid plans do not work as we expect. Like the hero Orion whose strength, skill and best intentions were no match for the stubbornness of the father and brother of the two women he loved, we often succumb to the fate of our own and others’ determination. In Orion’s case, he was made blind and later unintentionally killed by his lover through the tragic plot of her brother. The gods memorialized him among the stars – his belt the most prominent feature. The heart wants what it wants, but we cannot always plan for an outside intervention. Instead, we are left with the remnants of what if and the possibilities of ever after.
First-place winner at Book As Art: No Jacket Required exhibition, Decatur Arts Alliance, Decatur, GA, 2015; Versions of Truth, Gallery 1740, 2018; and Book as Flight, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, 2019.
Held in private collection. Atlanta, GA.
When the Hush Fell Upside Down
closed: 14 x 7 x 2 in.
open: 14 x 15 x 15 in.
edition: 3
It’s every ego’s dream to dazzle an audience into audible gasps of astonishment, but when something goes awry, the shock and awe is followed by a quick intake of breath and stunned silence. Major egg on your face. It’s the kind of hush that feels like it’s falling upside down in slo-mo. Not because you failed, but because you succeed so well that you somehow crossed a line you didn’t see coming. Some things you recover from and some things you can’t. When the Hush Fell Upside Down suggests that we have the ability to use our powers for good, but when ego is blind, things can go topsy-turvy.
Included in Lightweight, Hambidge Art Center, Rabun Gap, GA, 2016; and Versions of Truth, 1740 Gallery, 2018.
The Sky Is Surely Open
closed: 17 x 7 x 2.5 in.
open: 17 x 15 x 15 in.
acrylic, linen thread
edition: 5
A nod to Ovid’s Daedelus, The Sky Is Surely Open expresses a desire for escape and freedom. It is a declaration of independence from self-imposed limits and acknowledges the role of hope in moving beyond them.
Included in the Gallery Director Invitational exhibition, Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, CO, 2014; Versions of Truth, Gallery 1740, Atlanta, GA, 2018; and Page by Page at the Hudgens Center for the Arts, Atlanta, GA, 2019.
In the collections of the Cleveland Institute of Art and University of Denver Penrose Library Special Collections.
Just a Symptom
closed: 17 x 7 x 2.5 in.
open: 17 x 15 x 15 in.
acrylic, linen thread
edition: 4
Just a Symptom references the hope we place in ultimate goals and ideals that are part of our cultural conditioning. Think Cinderella’s savior-prince, abs of steel, 36-24-36, winning the lottery, granite countertops. Why do we set paradigms of achievement and worth on a pedestal and pay homage to standards of perfection? Is it a self-indulgent fantasy or a symptom of a greater need that both propels us into action and paralyzes us with inertia?
Included in the Gallery Director Invitational exhibition, Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, CO. Nov – Dec, 2014; Sights and Insights, Spruill Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA, Jan – Apr, 2016, and Page by Page at the Hudgens Center for the Arts, Atlanta, GA, 2019.
Held in private collection. Atlanta, GA.
It’s a Cinch
closed: 17 x 7 x 2.5 in.
open: 17 x 15 x 15 in.
acrylic, linen thread
edition: 4
In a tangible way, It’s a Cinch addresses how the simplest tasks or ideas are regularly complicated and restricted by our own belief systems. The act of squeezing them into a pre-set form or set of rules often results in grotesquely idealized or overwhelmingly beautiful consequences. And if we’re lucky, sometimes both.
Included in the Mysterious Worlds exhibition, Further Polycontemporary, Atlanta, GA, 2014; the Gallery Director Invitational exhibition, Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, CO, 2014; and Versions of Truth, Gallery 1740, Atlanta, GA, 2018.
Held in private collections.
Circumstantial Gravity
closed: 17 x 7 x 2.5 in.
open: 17 x 15 x 15 in.
acrylic, linen thread
edition: 2
Circumstantial Gravity suggests a snapshot of a whirlwind. The reflective properties of the fanned-out clear acrylic pages create optical illusions, where the viewer must decide what is real, what is a reflection, and if there is a difference between the two.
Included in the You Are Here exhibition, Further Polycontemporary, Atlanta, GA, 2014; the Coptically Bound exhibition, Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, CO, 2014; and the 7th Annual Artist Book Symposium, Savannah College of Art and Design ACA Library Artist Book Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 2014.
First-place winner at the 7th Annual Artist Book Symposium, Savannah College of Art and Design ACA Library Artist Book Gallery.
In the collection of Baylor University and Savannah College of Art and Design ACA Library Artist Book Gallery.
Snow Blow
closed: 5 x 5 x 1.5 in.
open: 5 x 10 x 10 in.
edition: 2
acrylic, linen thread
The uniqueness of a snowflake is astounding, yet its individuality can only be appreciated when it is pulled from a snow storm. And then moments later it melts away. There is no sacrifice, no power in its singularity. Rather, its identity is in the mix. Like flakes our identities can be lost among the masses, and with it our sense of responsibility. Stanislaw Jerzy Lec poignantly writes, “no snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.” Snow Blow is a challenge to the aphorism for viewers to stand out and take charge of their destinies, to own their actions and to glow before they melt.
In the collections of UC Berkley and private collector.
Snow Glow
closed: 5 x 5 x 1.5 in.
open: 5 x 10 x 10 in.
edition: 2
acrylic, linen thread, polyester glow-in-the-dark thread
The uniqueness of a snowflake is astounding, yet its individuality can only be appreciated when it is pulled from a snow storm. And then moments later it melts away. There is no sacrifice, no power in its singularity. Rather, its identity is in the mix. Like flakes our identities can be lost among the masses, and with it our sense of responsibility. Stanislaw Jerzy Lec poignantly writes, “no snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.” Snow Glow is a challenge to the aphorism for viewers to stand out and take charge of their destinies, to own their actions and to glow before they melt.
Included in The Book as Art: No Jacket Required, Decatur Arts Alliance, Atlanta, GA, 2015; Gallery Director Invitational exhibition, Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, CO, 2015.
In the collection of the University of Washington and SCAD Atlanta.
Snow White
closed: 5 x 5 x 1.5 in.
open: 5 x 10 x 10 in.
edition: 2
acrylic, linen thread
The uniqueness of a snowflake is astounding, yet its individuality can only be appreciated when it is pulled from a snow storm. And then moments later it melts away. There is no sacrifice, no power in its singularity. Rather, its identity is in the mix. Like flakes our identities can be lost among the masses, and with it our sense of responsibility. Stanislaw Jerzy Lec poignantly writes, “no snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.” Snow White is a challenge to the aphorism for viewers to stand out and take charge of their destinies, to own their actions and to glow before they melt.
Included in the LaGrange National XXIX Biennial, LaGrange Museum, LaGrange, GA. Feb – Apr, 2016; and Versions of Truth, Gallery 1740, 2018.
In the collections of Ringling School of Art and Design and private collector.
Pina
closed: 8 x 6 x 2.5 in.
open: 8 x 13 x 13 in.
acrylic, linen thread
Included in the College Collective exhibition, Genesee Center for the Arts and Education, Rocheseter, NY, 2016; Versions of Truth, Gallery 1740, Atlanta, GA, 2018; and Into the Nature at the Hudgens Center for the Arts, Atlanta, GA, 2018.
Play the Fool
closed: 20 x 6 x 3 in.
open: 20 x 13 x 13 in.
acrylic, linen thread
What we see isn’t always what we get. Perspective often determines whether we are the player or the one being played. Like a convincing drawing, Play the Fool relies on illusion to create the perception of mass and motion. A viewer’s vantage point makes all the difference between what he or she perceives is real and what is simply an optical manipulation.
Exhibited in Versions of Truth, Gallery 1740, Atlanta, GA, 2018.
For It Might End
closed: 7 x 14 x 2 in.
open: 7 x 14 x various lengths
acrylic, linen thread
edition: 3
Included in the Ley Lines exhibition, Hammond Hall Gallery, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL, 2015; and Versions of Truth, Gallery 1740, Atlanta, GA, 2018.
Butterfly Effect
closed: 6 x 8 x 2.5 in.
open: 6 x 16 x 16 in.
acrylic, linen thread
Exhibited in Versions of Truth, Gallery 1740, Atlanta, GA, 2018.
Wicked Thicket
closed: 20 x 6 x 3 in.
open: 20 x 13 x 15 in.
acrylic, linen thread
We chose our physical and emotional hiding places not only for the comfort they provide but for their safety features – aka their defense mechanisms. These shelters are both havens that keep outsiders at bay and prisons that prevent us from exploring the world. Wicked Thicket reflects on the duality of such retreats, both terrible and amazing. Though escape and refuge are essential when under duress, they are rarely sustainable for the long haul. At what point does a place of peace become a wicked thicket that keeps us from facing our fears?
Exhibited at Versions of Truth, Gallery 1740, Atlanta, GA, 2018.
Parallax Rising
open: 10 x 5 x variable
acrylic, linen thread
CONTACT FOR PRICE
macey ley 