Perri Lynch

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My recent work draws attention to thresholds where land meets sky, sea meets shore, and where one’s inner landscape converges with the outside world. Emphasis is placed on cognitive mapping and the human need to explore. This artwork invites one to consider how we use grids, maps, and other projections to apprehend our surroundings, yielding a somewhat deceptive sense of permanence.

“Water, stories, the body, all things we do, are mediums that hide and show what’s hidden. Study them and enjoy being washed with a secret we sometimes know, and then not.” - Rumi, 13th Century

On this planet, water is the universal life force. Where there is water, there is life, energy, and growth. Bayer’s Earthworks at Mill Creek Canyon frames the slow, lapping, tension between water that shapes land, and land that shapes water. As a functioning dam, this work reminds us of water’s subtle, yet powerful attributes. It is a medium that is both buoyant and – potentially -- deadly. Fluid motion progresses in five stages: instability, turbulence, resistance, separation and fluidity. Bayer’s work invites us to consider dynamic transitions and tranquil states in our own lives within the contemplative setting of this urban parkscape. Here, the presence of water becomes a landmark of life. With more attention towards our surroundings and the secret stories within, we all may derive a deeper sense of place.

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bio

Perri Lynch is a Seattle-based artist. Her work investigates the relationship between human perception and sense of place. Issues of navigation, intuition, and physical proximity are key components of these investigations. Through combined techniques in sound, light, sculpture, and image, Perri explores many attributes of a place simultaneously. Perri was raised in Marblehead, MA and is currently based in Seattle, WA. She received her MFA in printmaking from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2001. In addition to her studio practice, Perri performs with the Seattle Phonographer's Union and is an emerging public artist. In 2005, She completed her first permanent public work, “Imbrication” located at the Lake City Library. Her second commission, “Straight Shot” was installed last winter in Seattle’s Magnuson Park. Perri is the recent recipient of an Artist Trust Fellowship grant for Interdisciplinary Arts. She has served as a visiting artist at many colleges and universities, and is currently a graduate mentor through the Transart Institute, Linz, Austria. Her favorite art-making tool is a hand-held compass.

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1. OnGrid, 2006/07. 48”h X 18” w. Acrylic paint, graphite, and collage on panel. A series of visual works inspired by land survey, mapping, and nuances of place in the global context. Photographic elements from South India and Galle, Sri Lanka.
2. Floating Datum: Fixed Grid, 2005. PVC poles, Aluminum pin-piles, Wire spindle, Spinnaker cloth. 10’ x 60’ x 60’. Installed at a reclaimed Superfund site and former creosote factory, Bainbridge Island, WA. Artwork was commissioned to invite community back to a section of restored coastline previously closed due to environmental hazards. Wind indicators pattern the directional flow and velocity of air currents. Grid represents our tendency to map and monitor. Wind sensors remind us to look and feel. Curated by Kristin Tollefson. In collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency, Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council.