2022 MFA Thesis Exhibition: Merissa Mann

	Merissa Mann Gallery Entrance, Red Curtain
	Merissa Mann Next on the List: Bottarga 2022 Installation, Fabric, Hooks, Fishing Wire, Assorted Materials No Birds Were Harmed in the Making/ Ode to Harriet Hemenway 2021 77” x 27” x 27”, fabric, rattan, stuffing, reed, caning, paper, leather, assorted materials For Our Fins 2021 132”x 18” x 38”, Fabric, metal, polyfill, assorted materials Smuggled 2022 Installation, Assorted Materials, *Back View of Trunk Paintings (From Left to Right): Red Meat 2020 21 ½” x 30 ¾” framed (18” x 24”), Gouache on Paper Substrate 2021 27.5” x 35” framed, Gouache and Ink on Paper Sunday Swell 2022 46” x 54” framed, Gouache on Paper Mucosal 2021 49” x 46” framed, Gouache and Acrylic on Paper
	Merissa Mann From Left to Right:  Next on the List: Bottarga 2022 Installation, Fabric, Hooks, Fishing Wire, Assorted Materials Smuggled 2022 Installation, Assorted Materials, *Front View No Birds Were Harmed in the Making/ Ode to Harriet Hemenway 2021 77” x 27” x 27”, fabric, rattan, stuffing, reed, caning, paper, leather, assorted materials,  For Our Fins 2021 132”x 18” x 38”, Fabric, metal, polyfill, assorted materials Paintings (From Left to Right): Red Meat 2020 21 ½” x 30 ¾” framed (18” x 24”), Gouache on Paper  Substrate 2021 27.5” x 35” framed, Gouache and Ink on Paper Symbiotes 2021 48” x 51” framed, Gouache and Ink on Paper
	Merissa Mann Installation Documentation  Artist Adjusting Shark
	Merissa Mann Custom Vinyl Text on Floor Detail Shot of No Birds Were Harmed in the Making/ Ode to Harriet Hemenway
	Merissa Mann Back Cage Bustle Detail Shot of No Birds Were Harmed in the Making/ Ode to Harriet Hemenway
	Merissa Mann Symbiotes 2021 48” x 51” framed, Gouache and Ink on Paper
	Merissa Mann Mucosal 2021 49” x 46” framed, Gouache and Acrylic on Paper
	Merissa Mann Fascia Fungi 2021 36” x 51” framed, Gouache and Ink on Paper,

About the Installation

My work straddles the line between the beautiful and abject, investigating the dialectic quality of the erotic and the horrific. I’m concerned with re-examining our relationship with the natural world and other species, using imagination and non-didactic thinking to challenge the hierarchical systems which privilege humans over other species. Specifically, I’m interested in how the construction of desire influences human patterns of consumption. Across various mediums, I utilize the seductive quality of beauty to entice the viewer into contending with the difficulty of our current ecological reality. My biomorphic gouache paintings highlight our shared connection to nature through the visual confabulation of analogous structures across different flora and fauna. Internal organs mimic the shapes and colors of undersea creatures while mushrooms glisten like gangrenous blisters. Expanding beyond the medium of painting, my staged photographs and multi-media soft sculptures focus on the illegal trafficking and maiming of endangered species vis-a-vis camp aesthetics and a critical sense of humor. The sensual glamour of the materials stands in contrast to the brutal subject matter, at once appealing and repellent. Anthropomorphic costumes blur the distinction between female and fish, comingling the formal characteristics of the two. My latest ecofeminist performances explore the parallels between women and animals’ reproductive rights, both of which are threatened by patriarchal hegemonic systems of consumption and control.