By Elin Spring
Like a stone pitched into calm waters, the pandemic is still propagating ripple effects. Not that we ever had calm waters or that the consequences of Covid-19 are mere ripples. More like a stormy sea voyage. Photographer Gail Samuelson and the poet/photographer team of Dawn Surratt & Sal Taylor Kydd have weathered their pandemic passages in beautifully divergent ways. Even so, their exhibits in the Griffin Atelier Gallery and the Griffin Gallery at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA share a sense of grace and introspection. On view through September 4th, 2022, there will be an Online Artist Talk with Sal Taylor Kydd & Dawn Surratt on Wednesday, July 27th and an Online Artist Talk with Gail Samuelson on Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022, both at 7:00pm EDT.
“Driftwood” from the series Passing Through by Gail Samuelson, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
During the depths of the pandemic, home took on new meaning for all of us as we sheltered in place for extended periods of time. For photographer Gail Samuelson, it fostered closer attention to the interplay of light within the interior spaces of her home and upon the rural surroundings outside her door. Photographing these diurnal changes, she created diptychs that draw further connections between light and color, shape and pattern, inside and outside, concrete and abstract.
“Twigs” from the series Passing Through by Gail Samuelson, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Baby Oak” from the series Passing Through by Gail Samuelson, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
Her ease with airy shadows, a spark of color, or the echo of a contour evoke the passage of time in the aptly named series, “Passing Through.” With a subtle touch, she infers deep resonances. Samuelson’s unusual harmony of an asymmetric format in concert with her elegant compositions conspire to enchant the eye, engage the imagination and awaken the spirit.
“Tide Marker” from the series Passing Through by Gail Samuelson, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
Installation view of “Touchstones” exhibit by Dawn Surratt and Sal Taylor Kydd, courtesy of the artists and Griffin Museum of Photography. (Photo by Elin Spring)
Like many of us during the pandemic, artists Dawn Surratt and Sal Taylor Kydd formed a virtual connection, offering emotional support and creative motivation in an exchange of photographs and poetry from their respective homes in North Carolina and Maine. “Touchstones” is the intricately executed, multi-media installation of their collaboration.
Installation view of “Touchstones” exhibit by Dawn Surratt and Sal Taylor Kydd, courtesy of the artists and Griffin Museum of Photography. (Photo by Elin Spring)
Detail of installation in “Touchstones” exhibit by Dawn Surratt and Sal Taylor Kydd, courtesy of the artists and Griffin Museum of Photography. (Photo by Elin Spring)
In photographs that highlight solitary objects or figures, the use of soft and selective focus along with vignetted edges suggest a drift of thoughts, a slipping away of time, a whispering of distant memories.
Installation view of “Touchstones” exhibit by Dawn Surratt and Sal Taylor Kydd, courtesy of the artists and Griffin Museum of Photography. (Photo by Elin Spring)
Poetry printed on translucent fabric wafts gently over warm-toned B&W prints of the natural world. Alluding to the passage of time, diminutive antique keepsakes like frames and boxes enclose mementos of vintage photographs and messages gathered on scraps of paper.
Detail of installation in “Touchstones” exhibit by Dawn Surratt and Sal Taylor Kydd, courtesy of the artists and Griffin Museum of Photography. (Photo by Elin Spring)
This is an installation of memorials. The work is buoyed by a powerful sense of connection, a tribute to the closeness of the artists that is underlined by the lack of singular attributions. Taylor Kydd and Surratt’s tender, poignant and fastidious invention of past “touchstones” sigh with longing and loss, and call to the solace of memories to weather uncertain times.
Installation view of “Touchstones” exhibit by Dawn Surratt and Sal Taylor Kydd, courtesy of the artists and Griffin Museum of Photography. (Photo by Elin Spring)
Some of the same work in “Touchstones” is presented in Surratt and Taylor Kydd’s newly published book “A Passing Song,” a title referring both to their pandemic passages and to their creative exchange. Purchase is available through the museum.
For more information about these exhibits and associated programming, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/griffin-museum-galleries/
Feature Image: “Boardwalk” from the series Passing Through by Gail Samuelson, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
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