KAILEE VIATOR BATSON - MIXED MEDIA VISUAL ARTIST

      A banana spider builds its web each morning, and dismantles it at the end of each day. The web often bears a golden tint which camouflages its builder. It is made up of thousands of delicate strands which bear the weight of the morning dew. The spider’s home reflects ultraviolet light off the dew to attract its prey, making it a full purpose structure.

     “Lightweavers” is a series of mixed media paintings comprised of collage, India ink, found objects, oil pastel, and acrylic paint. The process used was heavily explored through a number of altered book journals, and translated onto canvas within the last year. Tactile and intuitive layer-making is later refined by calligraphy pens through drawing and handwritten text. This is a daily practice reminiscent of the spider’s endless web labors. This collection dissects the everyday effort to find the positive within the negative, the clear vision through the haze, and the light within the dark.

      Spider and web imagery weave together memory, emotion, and some art historical references. Within the works are several nods to Greco-Roman influence, with cypress trees mirroring the Grecian column. Previously made copperplate etchings of a human skeleton lie buried under several visceral layers of ink, wax, and varnish, but partially exhumed through a subtractive use of alcohol. Spiders are shown living above and beneath the water; lives spent not only on their webs, but dependent of their webs.

      Further, the diving bell spider dwells underwater, though it still requires oxygen. By trapping tiny beads of air between the follicles on its many legs, this arachnid transports its glass-like spheres of breath to a web woven between aquatic plants. This exhibit features different visualizations of the concept of vitality, and life as a series of labors, similar to that of the diving bell spider’s storage of air. These images require a careful look into their extensive ecosystems full of minute details, variety of mark-marking, and textures.

      “The light constantly changes, and that alters the atmosphere and beauty of things every minute.” —Claude Monet