GORHAM, ME — The University of Southern Maine Art Gallery is pleased to announce our 2024 fall exhibition, under/current. Featuring work by artist Stephanie Garon, this show uses video, sound, and mined rocks to transform our two-century-old building into an immersive artistic experience.

Stephanie Garon focuses on materials to investigate human collisions with the environment. She recently acquired a 20,000-rock core collection from a Gold Rush mining site from 1850. The site sits between two Passamaquoddy reservations and five towns in eastern Maine. Garon utilizes these rocks to create a new landscape within the Gallery. The resulting exhibition asks viewers to consider and respond to these material transformations, noting how such alchemizations prompt us to pay closer attention to our surroundings. In turn, our understanding is deepened regarding how natural resources are gathered, accumulated, and commodified. All are invited to join us for the exhibition and two major programmatic events:

An opening reception for under/current on Thursday, October 3 at 6 p.m. Location: University of Southern Maine Art Gallery 5 University Way, Gorham, Maine

A panel discussion on October 5 at 4 p.m. on issues around land claim, mining’s impact on the local economy, and how themes of economic and ecological intertwinement can be viewed as a microcosm of the concerns that face many communities throughout the ecoregion. Location: USM McGoldrick Center for Student Success, 35 Bedford Avenue, Portland, Maine 04101 & online via Zoom

Learn more at usm.maine.edu/gallery

Image courtesy of artist Stephanie Garon.