FARMINGTON – University of Maine at Farmington senior art students showcase the culmination of their work in the annual UMF Senior Exhibition Error 404. This exhibit is free and open to the public and is featured at the UMF Art Gallery April 16-May 16. An opening reception will be hosted from 5-7 p.m., Thursday, April 16.
The standard response code indicating a disconnection with an internet server, Error 404 explores how media and technology affect our lives by altering the ways that individuals connect, understand and share information. In an age when connectivity, communication and individual agency are all bound by a common global internet, Error 404 becomes the perfect analogy of the relationship between the individual and the world at large.
In this exhibit, the student artists employ various strategies through which these same technologies can be used as a medium to investigate their subject matter, inform their audience and perhaps transform their understanding.
Each of these five artists examines a diverse set of subject matter including social media, game theory, language and social injustice. The works use both physical and virtual worlds to question the logic of these structures within our culture and contemporary society.
By examining the design and functions of social media Nathan Libby, of Lincoln, analyzes how they formulate the identity of their users. His chaotic collages of objects embody the shock tactics used by digital media to disorient the gaze of the viewer.
Wesley Gooch, of Farmington, creates games that embody the dysfunctional nature of the capitalism they exist within. By producing games that intend to create stress, he questions the justice of our status quo and identity.
The work of Ruyun Xiao, of Beijing, China, is an exploration of language, as well as how the mind formulates definition from data. By using fragments of digital images, she analyzes this data and processes it through repetition to question ideas of production and meaning.
Emily Ross, of Jay, believes design work can be harnessed to create social reform. By focusing on subjects such as child soldiers and human trafficking, she hopes to inspire an awareness of one’s agency in the context of these social issues.
Blair Fenning, of Strong, explores the presence of violence within our media. By using found objects and produced works that embody this violence, he questions its role in our culture and seeks to raise awareness to violent social injustices both foreign and domestic.
This UMF Art Gallery exhibition is sponsored by the Department of Sound, Performance and Visual Inquiry. The gallery is located at 246 Main Street in Farmington, behind the Admissions Office. Gallery hours are Tuesdays–Sundays 12-4 p.m. and by appointment. For more information, or to make an appointment please contact Sarah Maline at maline@maine.edu or (207) 778-1062.
Fantastic show! Congratulations to the artists!