A poorly planned three-day camping trip nearly left Emily McConnell and Jacquelin Li, Cal State Long Beach photography majors, without of food and water, but later turned into an unorthodox and pleasant gallery installation.
McConnell teamed up with Li to showcase their love of the Earth in their “72 Hours with our Mother” exhibit, now on display the the Dennis W. Dutzi Gallery.
McConnell and Li went on a three-day camping trip in the San Gabriel Mountains in order to excavate the materials for their installation. They hiked up and down a six-mile trail on Mount Wilson, and nearly ran out of food and water in the process.
“It was definitely a trek, it was super steep hiking down,” Li said.
Li and McConnell wanted to depict nature in a different way, other than using common landscape photography. Physical artifacts from nature were collected, framed and hung on the walls of the gallery.
“We decided to bring the nature in,” Li said.
Even though both artists have roots in photography, they agree that the medium can often detach the viewer from what is depicted in front of them.
“We are literalizing [nature],” Li said. “It’s a different form of photography.”
When walking in, viewers are greeted with framed twigs and leaves, which lead into a three-tiered rack of neatly presented acorns and rocks. A video of the two artists walking along a trail creates a stomping rhythm in the background, letting attendees feel as if they are on a camping trip themselves.
“The way they used mixed media makes the gallery theme come across clearly,” said Alex Carman, women’s studies alumna.
Joanne Chen, senior studio art major, Joanne Chen, reminisced about the times she spent at sixth grade outdoor science camp when she entered the gallery.
“I like it. It’s really natural,” Chen said.
More camping trips and collaborations are future prospects for the nature-loving duo. They plan to continue expanding their work with different mediums and experiment more with installations, McConnell said.
“I always feel connected to the Earth,” she said. “I always incorporate some sort of natural orientation [in my work].”
“72 Hours” can be viewed Sunday through Thursday from noon to 5 p.m. in the Dutzi Gallery.
