An exhibit by artist Shara Rowley Plough opens Thursday at the Fielding Wright Art Center on the campus of Delta State.Delta State University’s Fielding Wright Art Center begins its 2015-16 season on Thursday with an exhibition of Shara Rowley Plough’s “Pastoral Tableau.”An opening reception will be held from 5-7 p.m.
Plough is an installation and mixed media artist who has worked in Cleveland the last couple of years. Her work investigates social inequalities and consumer culture, often utilizing the materials of consumer culture itself.
Pastoral Tableau is a commentary on the pressures to consume. Advertisements hold up impossible promises on how purchasing a vast array of products will change our lives, make us more alluring, more fulfilled or more successful, and our social status is measured not by our accomplishments, but by our ability to consume. The chase for the latest must-have consumer items is represented by a life-size hunting scene consisting of a horse, pack of hunting dogs, slain fox and a fluffle of rabbits.
Horse and fox hunts are associated with the leisure activities of the affluent, and for Plough, become the ultimate symbol of success and aspirations. On the other hand, the cruelty of the hunt also stands for the cannibalistic nature of consumption.
The entire scene was painstakingly crochet from horsehair. Plough explained that the material used is an important aspect of her message, as she was interested in the contrast between an unattractive waste material – horse hair – and the beauty of the horse which comes to symbolize the different aspects of consumption.
Plough earned an MFA from the University of Arizona. Her work has been included in the Arizona Biennial, the Shore Institute of the Contemporary Arts Invitational, the Meridian Museum Bi-State Art Competition, the E. E. Bass Cultural Arts Center, and has been shown at the Art Museum at the University of Memphis. The exhibit was created with the support of a grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission.
Pastoral Tableau will run from Aug. 20-Sept. 24. Gallery hours are Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m.-8:30 p.m., and Friday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The gallery is closed on weekends, holidays and during semester breaks.
For more information, visit the Department of Art’s website at https://www.deltastate.edu/college-of-arts-and-sciences/art, or contact 662-846-4720. For updates and announcements of upcoming events, follow the department on Facebook and join the email list.
