Ashley Freeby
Chicago, IL
September 2-30, 2021
Curated by Luna Goldberg
sponsored by Carlo and Micòl Schejola Foundation
BIO
Designer, artist and truth-teller, Ashley M. Freeby uses natural materials, poetic language and minimalism to explore site, monuments, and data as a way to investigate the essence of memory and trauma. Her recent solo and dual exhibitions include ‘(un)sterile soil’ is a virtual installation of content through Gallery 102 (2020), 'Plots & Hems' at Hyde Park Art Center (2019), 'As gesture' at Chicago Artist Coalition (2019), 'Non-constants' at The Annex @ Spudnik Press (2019), and 'Unjustified Patterns' at Kanzlei, Berlin (2018). In addition, she has participated in group exhibitions in DC, Chicago, Toronto Canada, and Pennsylvania. She was previously a Halcyon Arts Lab Fellow in DC, a HATCH Projects Resident in Chicago and has attended Vermont Studio Center and the Institut für Alles Mögliche in Berlin Germany. Freeby was awarded the SPARK grant and has earned a MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2018) and a BA from Bucknell University (2015). Freeby currently works for Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency as Communications Manager & Head Designer.
ARTIST STATEMENT
A thin layer of the Earth’s surface is removed as a gesture to extract tainted grounds. The fresh new surface creates an unexpected back to Earth monument—marking the location of a traumatic event. Inspired by this real life action and thinking about how we contain the dead out of the realm of the living, my work uses natural materials, poetic language, data, and minimalism to investigate what memories remain at sites of trauma.
A vast chasm of memory for the one lost, “...writing his dream inside a rectangle.” is an exploration of the story behind the location at Canfield Drive in Missouri (38.738360, -90.273701). In a minimalist form, 950 pounds of hand painted gravel takes on the trauma’s abyss in a 8x20 foot rectangular floor piece. The labor put forth in this piece is an action by myself to communicate with the void of absence. By touching every piece of gravel, the mixing and molding into shape adheres presence in the deep immeasurable space. The title for the work comes from James Baldwin’s obituary. Otto Friedrich, a friend of Baldwin, wrote the words and recalled a story from Paris when he was writing Baldwin’s obituary for Time magazine. He wrote “...he would occasionally take out a ball-point pen and start drawing a large rectangle on what was left of a beer-stained paper tablecloth. Inside the rectangle he would slowly write, ...the dream that enabled him to survive the bleak and penniless early years in Paris, the dream that... really was a novel and would someday make him famous.”1 The shape of the rectangle is a container in which can hold.
Segments are a series of sculptures and photographs each dedicated to a Black body who was shot and killed by police. Mimicking the aesthetics of soil profiles - the 4x8 inch brick consists of soil, gravel, sand, and grass seed. Although there is no direct reference to soil from the region where shootings take place, the custom layered Earth bricks speak directly to the cycle of human life. Using the method of mold making, one layer at a time, materials are added to a rectangular container. The uncertainty within the process reveals a different design each time - speaking to the individuality of human appearance. Exposed layers of Earth taken from the ground are left vulnerable to any outside contributors that affect their structure - addressing the fragility of life. Grass seeds, a fickle material, are then planted - stimulating life. As germination occurs, the Segments begin crisp and pristine. Growing to their maximum potential before ultimately leading to death. The temporary monuments celebrate and honor Black Americans who have been shot and killed by police officers by connecting their memories to place, time, and nature.
1 "Bearing Witness to the Truth James Baldwin: 1924-1987." Time 130, no. 24 (December 14, 1987): 80. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 24, 2018).
ARTIST LINKS
Website: www.ashleyfreeby.com
Instagram: @ashley.freeby