'Pentagram' opens Halsey exhibition

Five nude figures covered in white clay dust will surround artist Pinky/MMBass as she sits on the floor crocheting a large work with threads stretching to the five figures, three females and two males.

The choreography, accompanied by cellist Wade Davis, will be part of the 20-minute multimedia performance "Pentagram of Loss," celebrating Friday's opening of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art's exhibition, "Mend: Love, Life & Loss," at the College of Charleston.

The artist teamed up with dancer and performance artist Renee Cheveallier of Louisiana after havinga recurring image concerning five people in her life.

"It was my son, my only sister, both my parents and artist/collaborator Kitty Couch, all who died over a period of five years," explains the artist. "The recurring image had them forming a pentagram or a star with their bodies while I continued to crochet a type of umbilical cord."

She adds, "Our bodies are made of clay, and this piece is about the fragility of the human body, the space of loss and our inner-connectedness. We are left with only traces."

Curated by Mark Sloan, director of the Halsey, "Mend: Love, Life & Loss" is considered to be one of the institute's most ambitious projects of the year.

"This is also one reason I love my job," says Sloan. "I like to create a set of conditions where anything can happen." Because of the nudity, Sloan advises that the opening reception, 5-7 p.m. Friday, is for mature audiences only. "But it's nothing people haven't already seen on local theater stages," Sloan says with a chuckle.

Sloan has known Pinky/MMBass for 20 years. "When Pinky said she could bring a group to perform for our opening, I thought it was a great idea," he says.

The gallery director notes that of the 10 artists whose work will be on display, he first had admired the work of Nava Lubelski of Asheville. N.C., and Susan Harbage Page of Chapel Hill, N.C. He points out that all of the work in the show contains at least some sort of fiber reference: string, thread, yarn, hair, etc.

"Fiber is the central metaphor, as it is evidenced to be visibly fragile, yet through the (mending process), it becomes durable and at times indelible," he says.

"This exhibition explores the paradoxical nature of the idea of mending, be it a human who is sick, a heart that is broken or profound grief over a death. The artists in this show probe the dualities of strength/fragility, hope/despair, joy/grief, pretty/nasty, dainty/brutal and more as they all use fiber as the metaphor," Sloan says. "Each of the 10 artists employs the yoking of opposites as an expressive vehicle."

The other artists whose work will be on display through Dec. 5 are Adrienne Antonson, Charleston; Jon Coffelt, New York; Leslie Kneisel, Atlanta; Preston Orr, Savannah; Marilyn Pappas, Cambridge, Mass.; Mireille Vautier, New York; and Rachel Wright, Mobile, Ala.

The exhibition includes painting, sculpture, video, photography and mixed-media. The Halsey Institute is inside the Simons Center for the Arts, 54 St. Philip St. Hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday or by appointment. For more information, visit www.halsey.cofc.edu.

Reach Dottie Ashley at 937-5704 or dashley@postandcourier.com.