River Forest, IL
307 Gale Avenue
River Forest, IL 60305
Hannah Ketcher
Together/Unity
Together/Unity was created to represent the strength a community holds when focused on the same goal: a nurturing and unified place to call home, like mycelium. This piece is best represented as an exposed shadow box, with one main focal point. All four, individual painted panels create a unified image. However, when you move away from the focal point, the panel gaps are exposed. This can represent how vulnerable the image of the piece is. Similar to how vulnerable a community can be when not focused on what matters most.
323 Gale Ave
River Forest, IL 60305
CV Peterson
Mykitas Epoch - Who Goes First
“Mykitas Epoch – Who Goes First” is an interactive installation modeled after a childhood favorite game, Connect Four, and invites the community to take a pause in their busy day to play a yard game with a conceptual twist. The game takes place on a large checkerboard comprised of garden mulch where there are written prompts that give participants the option to engage in conversation about sustainability, the direction the world is going, mass extinction of organisms on the planet, and to share what products they wish would go green.
The playing tokens for this installation are separated by two different images sculpted onto the face of the token. One image is the sigil for the word ‘Plastic’ and the other is the sigil for ‘Styrofoam,’ two products we are praying to disappear as we continue to bless it upon our planet. The tokens are grown out of a fungal mycelium that is a bio-alternative for Styrofoam and then dried to become the playing pieces of this game. This fungi is a natural material from Ecovative Design called Mycofoam, that they are actively using to replace Styrofoam. These tokens are an example of green engineering that is available NOW, not a concept for the future.
So come play a game with us and take a moment to ask yourself, Who Goes First?
333 Gale Ave
River Forest, IL 60305
Karen Azarnia
Queen Anne’s Lace
Historically, the wildflower Queen Anne’s Lace or Daucus Carota (more commonly known as wild carrot) was harvested and used by women in ancient times as a means to prevent pregnancy. This project is a direct response to the actions of the Supreme Court overturning Roe vs. Wade – the unconscionable stripping away of human rights and sovereignty over our own bodies. The piece also touches on themes of natural life cycles and resilience, and can be viewed by day or at night when it becomes illuminated.