Refugia - Mushroom Frog

Ceramic

-

Calvin University Center Art Gallery

The image portrays a sculptural representation of a frog-like creature with various mushrooms growing out of its back, displaying a whimsical and imaginative fusion of nature and animal forms. The mushrooms have a reddish hue, contrasting with the earthy tones of the frog, creating a unique and eye-catching visual.

The image portrays a sculptural representation of a frog-like creature with various mushrooms growing out of its back, displaying a whimsical and imaginative fusion of nature and animal forms. The mushrooms have a reddish hue, contrasting with the earthy tones of the frog, creating a unique and eye-catching visual.

Name/Title

Refugia - Mushroom Frog

Entry/Object ID

2024.7.3

Category

Alumni Artist, Vault, Objects, Animals

Made/Created

Artist

Rine Wakeman

Date made

2021

Dimensions

Dimension Description

overall size

Height

2-1/4 in

Width

4-3/4 in

Depth

5 in

Exhibitions

Senior Exhibition - Center Art Gallery, Senior Exhibition - April 22 - May 4, 2024
Permanent Collection - Center Art Gallery: August 30 - October 24, 2024

General Notes

Note

Artist Statement Refugia focuses attention on loss, grief, adaptation, and hope as we come into a world that has been fundamentally changed in ways that we don't fully understand. A refugium is a biological term for an area of appropriate habitat that remains when the surroundings become inhospitable. The term sees much use in the context of urbanization and anthropogenic climate change. Frogs are among the most charismatic of indicator species, organisms whose presence in an ecosystem indicate future health. If an environment suddenly loses its plants, bugs, or amphibians, something is deeply wrong. You can hear both the presence and absence of bugs, of frogs, of birds - and too often, we overlook the grief entwined with the absence of voices. My work relies heavily on rejection and animosity from faith communities that I have faced as a queer person and how that shapes my interactions with nature. It mourns losses because of the way I am made and celebrates the various "refugia" that kept me safe until I was able to reemerge. I find myself in a world that is different from the one I grew up in: missing once treasured communities, but expanding into new ones. I invite you to take time to listen to heralds of change and acknowledge difficult feelings that the presence of grief brings. What are you afraid of? What are you grieving? And - perhaps most important - what gives you hope to persist in the ever-changing world?