This installation documentation by artist Ashley Feagin is part of the new "We Are Overwhelmed" exhibition opening July 30 at the UTSA Main Art Gallery.
JULY 29, 2021 — The UTSA Department of Art and Art History will present works by independent artist Ashley Feagin and Libby Rowe, an associate professor of photography at UTSA, in an exhibition starting July 30.
Titled “We Are Overwhelmed,” the exhibition brings together two distinct bodies of work created by these interdisciplinary artists who are navigating the realities of social distancing, isolationist living choices, and the forced compression of domestic and professional roles.
“The cushion of a commute, during which work stressors decompress and the pressures of work are shed to allow for presence when with families, has vanished,” said Scott Sherer, assistant professor and director of UTSA’s Main Art Gallery. “Work and the stress of home are now physically and mentally commingled to create a pressure cooker that demands constant monitoring.”
Like the Department of Art and Art History, the gallery is part of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts, which is dedicated to the education of diverse audiences and the benefits of that knowledge on society. According to Sherer, the artists are mothers, educators, and professionals dealing with the mental toll of juggling each of these roles and their unique demands, with the added chaos of quarantine, distance teaching, and coordinating their children’s distance-learning efforts.
“Let’s just say they have reached a new level of overwhelmedness,” Sherer added.
Rowe’s installation, “Taming the Chaotic Mind,” visually represents the different sources of the noise that often renders her unable to begin any one task. She draws from visual representations of everyday objects that hang, dangle or are suspended—whether it’s car sale triangle banner lines, clothes drying on a line, swings on a swing set, strings of lights, chandeliers, or even birds on a telephone line.
“Each of these objects represent different aspects of life,” Rowe said. “The objects are overlaid with imagery and text from visual references to the myriad attention demanding thoughts, ideas, and bits of information that fuel the chaos that exists within my—and many contemporary women’s—minds.”
Feagin’s works, “1260 sq ft,” “Addicted and Overwhelmed,” and “Late Night Distractions” use photographs, video, fabric and installations to examine specific topics of the domestic queer space. Those topics include her transition into a queer family; her evolution as an adoptive parent of a neurodivergent child; the exploration of family history and its role in crafting the domestic space; and the mixture of queer, trans and domestic identities in domestic spaces.
According to Sherer, this exhibition shows the disappearance of the physical and mental separations that help women navigate the shifts between domestic and professional roles.
Data shows that women are now the heads of half of U.S. households, even among couples with dual income. However, according to research, women were more likely to be the first to experience the toll family matters take on their mental health. Even among Texas women, UTSA scholars found similar findings.
The artwork in this show aims to recognize the cracks that appear from the forced merging of professional responsibilities into familial and domestic spaces. The shifts in family life have a profound effect on mothers and children.
An opening reception for “We Are Overwhelmed” will be held at the UTSA Main Art Gallery from 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday, July 30. The exhibition is free, open to the public, and will be on display through Friday, August 13. The Main Art Gallery (ART 2.03.04) is located in the Arts Building on Main Campus and is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
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