Wendy Given at Solomon Projects (The Wilds)
Wendy Given, THE WILDS: Study No. 1
Wendy Given’s The Wilds—one of two photo series in her Solomon Projects show, “No Man’s Land”—works on two separate narrative planes. On one hand, we have the story of Given and her husband, who’ve searched exhaustively for specific landscapes throughout the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Given’s husband then assumes a form appropriate to Given’s vision (a robed figure in Study No. 7, a full ghillie suit in Study No. 1), and poses as part of Given’s landscape. On top of this “real life” tale of the photographs’ creation, Given adds another a layer of fable, drawing themes from diverse folk traditions. She finishes her constructions by “photoshopping” extra elements to complete the scene.
THE WILDS: Study No. 7 (detail)
Study No. 7, a piece with a central placement in the exhibition, is a stunning landscape that evokes the fable of “Little Red Riding Hood.” Even without the addition of the wolf (above left) and robed figure (above right)—the viewer’s eye is drawn by jagged, sloped branches to the bright forest clearing—and to the right of this focus, we see a fallen tree projecting darkness in tangles of outreaching branches. Rather than seeming intrusive or contrived, Given’s wolf and robed figure seem natural, as if revealed by a slight shift in a landscape photographer’s lighting.
THE WILDS: Study No. 7
THE WILDS: Study No. 1 (detail)
I missed the artist talk, but Becky Nickerson (of Solomon Projects) gave me a paraphrased description of Study No.1:
Wendy’s husband can be found in a ghillie suit, a type of camouflage clothing used in [the] military to hide enemies or targets, in the middle on the left. However in the Scottish Highlands, “ghillie dhu,” meaning “dark servant” is a fairy or guardian spirit of the trees, which is the aspect Wendy was interested in.
The wikipedia article on Ghillie Suit adds:
The name was derived from ghillie, the Gaelic for “boy.” in English [the word is] used to refer to servants, as in Gillie, [who assist] in deer stalking, hunting or fly fishing expeditions in the Scottish Highlands.
Again, there are two narratives at play here. Within the reality of the piece, Given’s husband takes on the role of “ghillie,” folkloric guardian spirit of the trees; for viewers who know the context of its creative process, he also becomes the “Gillie,” the human servant who assists Given as she “hunts” for suitable landscapes.
THE WILDS: Study No. 4
Study No. 4 is more of a mishmash of legends. The swans on the left could be from Ovid’s Metamorphoses; a beetle in the foreground recalls Egyptian scarabs; and the central image, the human/deer hybrid drinking from the stream can be found in European, Mediterranean, Native American, and even Japanese myth. The influences found in Study No. 4 suggest a totem pole approach to myth and imply the collective unconscious Given explores throughout The Wilds.
While this piece is certainly stunning (especially at its full 40×60 inches), the scene can also overwhelm the viewer, discarding the subtlety and appreciation for natural forms found in my favorite pieces from The Wilds. I admit that my reaction may be due to the unbelievable lushness of this scene—the forests of the Pacific Northwest flow with color in ways we Georgians never see. While the landscape and coloring look excessively manipulated to me, this could just as easily be a standard scene in the Oregon woods.
THE WILDS: Study No. 2
And that’s the question inspired throughout Wendy Given’s The Wilds. Is this real? Is this manipulated? To what extent have Given and her husband created a stage? How long did they hunt for each of these landscapes? What’s the difference between accidentally capturing a wild boar in your shot and adding it digitally?
Wendy Given’s The Wilds is on view at Solomon Projects through Sat. Nov. 29, along with her companion series, A. Hypogaea Albus (Peanut Elves).
