MEGGAN JOY
FEVER DREAM
J. Rinehart Gallery is delighted to announce Meggan Joy’s highly anticipated exhibition of five new and epic works, Fever Dream. Fever Dream opens the narrative of what loss, fear, or pain can yield. Even the dew-kissed wild things have Fever Dreams.
Fever Dream will be on view online and in the Gallery August 31 – September 24, 2024. A Collectors Preview will be held August 31, 2024, from 2-4pm. A Public Opening Reception will be held First Thursday, September 5, 2024, from 5-8pm.
Within Meggan Joy’s Fever Dream, figures whisper the components of the stories that tested us and, instead of condemning our faults, reveal that those moments left us the most exciting scars. Primarily focused on digital collage, Meggan Joy combines fragments of the natural sciences with her narratives and allegories; often weaving in symbols and motifs from art history to create a new surreal vision.
Meggan Joy fabricates her staged imagery from the ground up, growing most of her subject matter in her garden, documenting the growth, beauty, and decay. Each piece is created by assembling thousands of individual photographs of botanicals, insects, and other wildlife - resulting in a final image that is bursting with life and layered with hidden details and anecdotes.
Joy was honored as one of Amazon's Artists in Residence in 2023, a finalist for the 2019 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, and received the 2017 bronze award at the Moscow International Foto Awards in the Fine Art – Collage category. She occasionally shares her practice in collaboration with SIGMA lenses.
Joy’s work can be found in numerous private and public collections including Amazon Headquarters; Seattle WA, The Waldorf Astoria Hotel; Amsterdam, The Netherlands, The Thompson Hotel; Seattle, WA, Zielinski & Rozen Perfumerie x Les Perles du Palais; Courchevel, France, and The Coleman; Newcastle, WA. She lives and works in Seattle, WA.
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Fever Dream Part One
Even the dew-kissed wild things have Fever Dreams.
Part One of Fever Dream opens with a narrative of what loss, fear, or pain can yield. They whisper the components of the stories that tested us and, instead of condemning our faults, reveal that those moments left us the most exciting scars.
Wide and Wild
“She's a piece for when you find your person (whether that be a lover, friend, kids, whatever), and once you have them, you know that if they disappear in any way, you also will be gone, maybe still "here," but not in the same way. That terrifying amount of care and love that can ruin you if it's gone. The person that literally can destroy your world. I read a lovely paper about a handful of entomologists who found that Eurasian Eagle Owl will eat Stag Beetles when they can find them and only if there isn't other food. Apparently, it's a battle to behold, and that brings me so much joy to visualize. The necklace is made of the usual food web of Eurasian Eagle Owl: Northern Pike, Grey Fox, Rock Pigeon, Grass Snake, Grass Frog, and references lover's eye jewelry”
Tyche
“Tyche is thought to be a goddess of fortune, often depicted with a blindfold and balancing on a wheel of fortune. She's an embodiment of a crossroads. It's made for people who have big choices or little choices that add up to big changes. Her fingers are crossed for good luck because I am an elementary school girl forever. She has split coloring to depict good fate vs. terrible fate. Tyche is adorned in good luck charms: Amanita Muscaria (red/white mushroom), Cricket, Four Leaf Clover. Her hands and feet are made from yarrow because they looked like a quilt, and my great grandma used to tell me quilts were good luck.”Try One’s Luck
"She's every seemingly bad choice you ever made that eventually worked out. She's giving in to whatever temptation and being fine with the consequences because she knows her own business better than anyone else. And if it goes bad, she owns her repercussions because life would be boring without trying. She is a rough play at one of my favorite tropes for this work, Eve eating the apple. The two mushrooms that tell the story are Aminita Muscari and, most importantly, Psilocybe Cubensis. She also has hops and other delicious things tucked in.
A cute frog eating a giant mushroom? - yes, please."
Thick As Thieves
“They might be wounded but that wound keeps them bonded. Certain people are worth the trouble of staying connected to, and more so, some are so worth it that it is a boon to have been tethered to them in the first place. And if someone ever tries to shoot you and yours down, you know you are doing something right. The arrowhead is a Swallowtail Broad Head used for big game in medieval times; it goes in and doesn't come out unless cut out. A periodical cicada emerges in a weird time loop. I do not envy the life of these little bugs. The dragonfly is generally considered a depiction of change in folklore. The two together depict patience and transformation, two gifts having your fate tied up with another will provide.”
Icarus
“Potential, femininity, fear, growth, the moments before a big change, Icarus can fit into many of stories. She’s the moments before growth and change and the fear and bravery that those moments bring. I hope the people who adopt her see themselves reflected in her world changing strength. She is filled with lilacs because my childhood home had a huge lilac tree that always had some sort of bird nest in it. Her skirt is filled with bird nests are from The Burke Museum collection, you can still find tags and numbers on them if you look hard. They are from many different types of environments. There are no predators included in Icarus, that’s too dark for this piece, though, all the eggs are empty. So, I suppose it is a dark piece after all.”