On view from July 3 to August 4, 2015

In classical Greek mythology, Gaia is the primal Mother Goddess; creator and giver of birth to the Earth and all the Universe.  Inspired by the contributions of artists and performers all around the world who have heard and responded to the cry of the Earth arising from the unprecedented crisis of global climate change, Gaia’s Lament: Art Cry is the brainchild of sculptor Renee Rhodes of Killingworth.  For more than a year, painters, sculptors, installation artists, choreographers, dancers, and poets have been meeting to plan this major exhibition combined with a series of performances on opening night and through July.  The exhibit and performances are designed to coincide with SailFest when up to 100,000 visitors come to New London.  
 
As part of its educational mission, Hygienic Art has made its gallery space and courtyard performance space available so visitors can learn more about the effects of global climate change while experiencing the various visual and performance art.  

All of the works created for, and displayed or performed during Gaia’s Lament: Art Cry, are connected with the beauty and vulnerability of our planet and focus on some aspect of eight major impacts of climate change: higher temperatures; changing landscapes; wildlife at risk; rising seas; frequent, severe and widespread floods, droughts and forest fires; more intense and more frequent storms and hurricanes; more heat-related illness and disease; starvation and economic losses, and the probable political and social upheavals that will be the consequence of all of the above.

Artists involved include two sculptors: Renee Rhodes, who will display three major new bronze sculptures from her Tree Spirit Series, works which embody the voices of trees, and Serena Bates of Westerly whose new sculpture, “A Murder of Crows,” is an allegorical representation of how the very nature we are impacting, will eventually take over in order to survive. Two photographers, Claudia Van Nes of Chester, and Sue Connolly of New London, will be exhibiting.  Painters include Rosemary Cotnoir of Essex, a artist whose major body of work depicts the beauty and majesty of trees; Linda Talerico of Stonington, who is imagining Gaia herself in her art, and Gray Jacobik of Deep River, an encaustic artist who focuses on images of the Earth from space.  Ruth Berman and Genevieve Lavo are collaborating on a painting.

Carol Young of Essex, a sculptor, painter and playwright, has created (among other works) an installation that is a large sculptural assemblage made of recycled materials, including a giant Tinker Toy and an approximate 8-foot tall robot.  To symbolize species endangerment and extinction, renowned painter Del-Bourree Bach of Mystic, is contributing a large portrait of a whale and another extraordinary painting, “Some Enchanting Evening” of an osprey.

Planetary is a provocative and breathtaking wake-up call, a cross continental, cinematic journey, that explores our cosmic origins and our future as a species. Due to the generosity of our donors, this groundbreaking film will be shown on continuous loop during the exhibition.   Like the artists and performers associated with Gaia’s Lament: Art Cry, members of the Planetary Collective, who made the film, are “dedicated to worldview interruption” and “believe passionately in the power of creative work to change perspectives, lives, and ultimately the planet.”

OPENING NIGHT

Friday evening, July 3, 7:00-11:00, will be memorable and a truly exceptional opening.  In Hygienic Art’s Courtyard, an original choreographed dance from Buoy that incorporates the work of young hiphop performers Todd Belcher, Michael Okoasia, and D’Andrea Knox, will be performed.  Todd is a native New Londoner, a self-taught dancer who has appeared in three of the Youth Talent Shows at The Garde Arts Center.  D’Andrea Knox, an ECSU student, is the director and choreographer of Dance in Fusion of New London Country and teaches dances in the Norwich public schools.  Michael Okoasia, a self-taught dancer who has auditioned for such events as “So You Think You Can Dance,” wowed the judges at his audition for the New London Talent show by performing an African hiphop piece he choreographed himself.
 
Buoy is a contagious sense of joy expressed through the movements of Viva Soudan and Bailey Nolan, a troupe founded on pillars of celebrating the Goddess in us all.  In its performance of “Buoy Refreshes,” the dancers explore the differences between being supported and wanting support and the relationships we create in that path. Draped within the backdrop of the Hygienic’s Courtyard and Sculpture Garden, Buoy, with the addition of two experienced dancers of the Wild Angels Collective, as well as hiphop dancers Belcher, Ocasia and Knox, will take the audience on a voyage through their personal definition of home.  Buoy's raw emotion juxtaposed with choreography both delicate and powerful, will leave the audience dancing at the bottom of the ocean.

The dance performances will be preceded with a spoken word performance by acclaimed New Londoner Naomi Jones, and another performance by poet and environmentalist, Joanie DiMartino of Mystic.  DiMartino will present an original work about the endangered whale. Marya Ursin’s and Dan Potter’s Mystic Paper Beasts, from The Dragon’s Egg, dressed as natural elements of the Earth, will be circulating throughout the gala opening.  

OTHER EVENTS

On Saturday, July 11, a short tragicomedy in one act, “The Clock With One Hand,” written and directed by Carol Young, will be performed.  The message is somber (global warming), but the characters (XOX the robot, Athena, the ancient Greek goddess, and Lucky, the horseshoe crab) are hilarious.  Please check Hygienic Art’s website for details.  

As part of Gaia’s Lament: Art Cry, there will be a second evening of dance performances by New London-based dancers called “Heal This Land”. Check Hygienic Art’s website for details.

Two the major poets of Southeastern Connecticut, Jude Rittenhouse and Joanie DiMartino, are sponsoring a poetry reading at Hygienic Arts on Saturday, July 18th.  Eight of the area’s finest poets will each be reading poems connected with the power, beauty, spirit and future of the Earth and the current environmental crisis.   

Gaia’s Lament: Art Cry is managed by Sue Connelly of New London and the staff of Hygienic Art, and funded, in large part, by the Willow Creek Foundation of Cecilton, Maryland, whose mission is to fund educational, arts and other 501c3 organizations. Marion, Massachusetts.

Please check Hygienic’s website at www.hygienic.ning.com and the Gaia’s Lament: Art Cry Facebook page for the most up to date information on events.