[in]land | Finch Lane Gallery | 6.25.21 - 8.6.21
BFA Alumni Alec Bang and Douglas Tolman open their exhibition [in]land at Finch lane this Friday, with a reception from 6-9pm. Their work explores issues of land-use in the West, whiteness, and seeking how to be responsible visitors in a land colonized by their ancestors. To address these issues, Bang and Tolman intentionally appropriate the visual language of their colonizer ancestors as a response to the socio-ecological problems which followed colonization of the West. The exhibition will incorporate sculptural works, maps, and photographic documentation of Bang and Tolman’s creative process.
BIOS
Alec Bang is an artist + designer born in Utah, descended from European immigrants. Connection / disconnection from heritage and place have deeply affected his work as well as life path as he pursues the reconstruction of a healthy relationship to this desert region; a mismanaged landscape often viewed as a landfill for the military/industrial complex. He is working towards a career of integrating art and design into sustainable building techniques and integrating ecological methods into affordable community housing. He continues to play in the inbetweens, creating work which finds connection in the land and community he belongs to.
Douglas Tolman is an interdisciplinary artist primarily working in rural Utah. He believes a sense of place and connection to community are the strongest tools we have for fixing the many socio-ecological problems in the Mountain West. He currently lives and serves as an AmeriCorps Member in Green River, Utah with a focus on youth education, affordable housing and implementation of a new town park. This fall he begins MFA candidacy at the University of Utah to further his passion for art, education, and socio-ecological equity. With his practice, he hopes to facilitate a sense of place within the community by reframing historical narratives and promoting civic participation in the places we call home.