Shoebox Conversations: Pam Douglas
Welcome to our new program, Shoebox Conversations. Our team, Kristine Schomaker, Sheli Silverio and S. Vollie Osborn, is meeting up with artists via Zoom to discuss their art practice, new work, upcoming exhibitions, and more.
Our first artist to join our us is Pam Douglas who is working on a 3 part project “Sanctuary.”
“We are in a startling time, hearing the cries of children torn from their parents. Around the world, refugees seeking sanctuary compel my new work in a visceral response.
For years I created individual paintings and assemblage, from abstract through figurative, in a wide variety of mediums. Now I’m doing a large installation that embodies everything in the service of its importance.
“Sanctuary” is a multi-year project. At its core are life-size figures drawn in charcoal on raw linen draped ceiling to floor. These are parents and children seeking refuge. I discovered a cache of used coffee bean bags that I use throughout the installation as a texture and as a metaphor: these seekers are being treated as commodities rejected at borders.
I aim to reach viewers with the power of their humanity.”
