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Exhibition Opening! Elizabeth Corkery: Well-Ripened Seeds
Well-Ripened Seeds features photographic and installation-based works to explore the ways in which the poaching, trade, and propagation of plants from colonized nations influenced the growth and development of imperial powers in the 19th Century. This exhibition pays specific attention to the industry and plant-powered commerce of the British Empire, and its effect on the development of bourgeois prosperity. As the 19th century progressed and labor moved out of the home, domestic interiors shifted to prioritize comfort, relaxation, and aesthetic interventions. This led to the investment in the decorative arts and the development of the domestic interior as we know it today.
Grounded by this history, the exhibition features three full-sized hearths, constructed from handmade tiles, that adorn the interior of the gallery. The mapping of the exhibition is informed by the footprint of a traditional Victorian terrace home. The hearths draw upon the intricate design of 19th Century ceramic tiles and feature silkscreened patterns of plants - tobacco, indigo, sugar, rubber, and tea - that were influential in the consolidation of colonial power. Presented as quiet sculptural interventions, this body of work utilizes the subtle language of flowers and their relationship to the development of interior design, to examine the root of the industrial revolution, and who, in turn, is absent from narratives of economic and cultural growth.
The hearths are complimented by a series of photographs that depict extravagant bourgeoise interiors, as assembled paper theater sets. Each miniature interior hosts an arrangement of natural commodities, including cotton, coffee, citrus fruits, and nutmeg, that appear to spill into and out of the circumscribed picture frame. The photographs play with our understanding of flatness and perspective while eschewing traditional relationships of scale, placing the oversized items within the miniature constructed interiors.
As a city whose economic history is rooted in industry, Buffalo is an apt location for the debut of this body of work. Following the entrance into the post-industrial era, development slowed, and, where other cities moved to invest in new architectures, much of the city’s housing stock remained intact. As a result, Buffalo has one of the largest concentrations of Victorian homes in the nation. The principles of interior design, grown out of the imperial cultivation and subsequent industry of plants, continues to proliferate, both in the architectural gems of Buffalo, and beyond. This exhibition aims to call attention to these roots, lest we forget the complex web of profit and conquest that germinated the soil.
Event Links
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2359047-0
