In advance of Earth Day, four female artists came together earlier this month to present “How On Earth,” an exhibition put together by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the nonprofit Art at a Time Like This.
Janet Biggs, Lily Kwong, Helina Metaferia and Ma were among hundreds of exhibitors who participated in the 10th anniversary of, an international art fair held at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall from April 13-16. Biggs, Metaferia and Ma spoke about their work during a panel discussion on April 14.
Artist Janet Biggs, right, and her sister, Karen Berman, discuss artworks while standing next to saplings planted atop tree trunks in an installation by artist Lily Kwong, titled"MOTHERFIRE," on display in an exhibit"How On Earth," at the EXPO Chicago art exhibition at Navy Pier. Biggs said the Mars simulation comes from a group of international scientists and engineers who wear space suits and live as if they were on Mars conducting research, with hope of one day going to an analogue environment to conduct real research. For filming, Biggs also wore a space suit.Over three years, she went back and forth to the Horn of Africa to film. She would enter a refugee camp with armed guards and stay for monthlong periods.
Her inspiration for the bold artistic statements started in 2016, after the death of her mother, a women’s rights activist. She said her mother was working on a memoir, and it made Metaferia think about the lack of equitable representation of women in historical archives, particularly of Black women. She set out to change that narrative.
A paper wave created by Ma looked like an ominous, sweeping dragon that came up from the wall. Made of delicate black paper decorated in gold, her vision was that the wave would slowly degrade over the course of the fair as a statement of human impact on the natural world.Ma started painting on thick paper because she loved its tactile quality. And now she creates stunning, fan-like features with it — ripples that twirl out and then condense.
Elizabeth Corr, associate director of arts and cultural partnerships at NRDC, said Ma’s wave was emblematic of Corr’s role with her organization. She partners with artists to break down the legal briefs that often accompany environmental policy discussions.
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