Inhabiting Rivers, Unfinishing Circles

August 11 - September 3, 2022

Lincoln Arts Institute
112 S. McLean
Lincoln, IL

Tamara Becerra Valdez
Jordan Hess
Dakota Mace

Curated by Lease Agreement

A river is a metaphor - as Heraclitus wrote, “no [person] ever steps in the same river twice” - where time changes ourselves, the world, and our experience of the world. Or, as Maggie Nelson writes, a river is a blue emotion on which we are carried. In her case the metaphor is aimed at understanding mortality: “If you are in love with blue you fill your pouch with stones good for sucking and head down to the river. Any river will do.” In all cases, a metaphorical river is a location that carries histories and emotions in the form of flotsam and jetsam. Inhabiting Rivers, Unfinishing Circles presents approaches to examining or excavating histories and emotions, flotsam and jetsam. The works in this exhibition by Tamara Becerra Valdez, Jordan Hess, and Dakota Mace explore excavation as a form of research that is specific to the acts of uncovering and collecting histories, narratives, and cultural material. The goal of this exhibition is not to present objective documentation of a particular place, lineage, erasure, or phenomena but instead to locate that which has spent some time floating along.

A screening of time-based works at the Lincoln Arts Institute will accompany the exhibition on September 2, at sunset (7:30pm).

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Born and raised in South Texas, Tamara Becerra Valdez is an artist who works at the intersection of archives, oral histories, material studies, and ecology. Tamara's sculptures and relief works require slow, meticulous processes of hand fabrication and technique. She frequently works with discarded materials to comment on legacy and loss, from family histories to ecological devastation. Tamara holds an MFA from the University of Illinois Chicago. She is also an avid gardener, seed saver, and environmentalist.

Jordan Hess currently lives and works in New Orleans. Since moving to Louisiana in 2018, Hess has focused on the Mississippi River landscape as a source of inspiration and materials for his sculptures and installations. He spends his time walking along the levees collecting discarded consumer products, bones, sediment, and anything that finds its way into the river to incorporate into the work. Hess’ overall work explores and questions ideas of value and preciousness, while simultaneously emphasizing the human impact on the river and landscape beyond.

Dakota Mace (Diné) is an interdisciplinary artist whose work focuses on translating the language of Diné history and beliefs. Mace received her MA and MFA degrees in Photography and Textile Design at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her BFA in Photography from the Institute of American Indian Arts. As a Diné (Navajo) artist, her work draws from the history of her Diné heritage, exploring the themes of family lineage, community, and identity. In addition, her work pushes the viewer's understanding of Diné culture through alternative photography techniques, weaving, beadwork, and papermaking.

The Lincoln Arts Institute’s mission is to provide an environment for people to thrive by engaging in the arts. They aim to enhance the quality of life for those in their community and visitors by providing opportunities for self-expression, fun and creativity.

Inhabiting Rivers, Unfinishing Circles is curated by Lease Agreement. Lease Agreement is an artist-run and nomadic curatorial project directed by Adam Farcus. The gallery programming continues in the tradition of alternative art spaces by organizing conceptually rigorous, engaging work for exhibitions, screenings, performances, and art events.