Organized and presented by Unbound Visual Arts with the artist Heather Palecek
August 4th – September 15th, 2023
Opening Reception – Thursday August 10, 2023 6:30 – 8:00
Live music by Mae Siu Wai Stroshane
Exhibit Assistants: Jessica Hernandez, Shuxian (Tiffany) Zhang, Tina Wang
Additional Credits: Yufan Deng, Sofia Garcia, Grace Hull, Jace Light. Exhibit Coordinator: John Quatrale
Arthaus Art Exhibit Gallery – 43 N. Beacon St., Allston, MA
Buy Art | Press Release| Exhibit Catalog
Statement by the Artist:
Squash ‘Em showcases a unique blend of the arts and sciences to highlight artist Heather Palecek’s passion for the environment and to educate viewers on the ways in which the invasive Spotted Lanternfly is destroying North Eastern forests.
As they overtake forests in droves, cover trees and suck their sap, and finally leave the forests sticky and stained in black mold, Spotted Lanternflies are yet another prominent threat to forests across fourteen states and counting. Palecek cleverly conveys the devastating effects of the Spotted Lanternfly through a series of seven pieces: six gelatin prints made by combining live insects, pinhole photography, and a bit of chemistry, as well as an impressive installation containing over 250 chemigrams. Her innovative approach delivers viewers with not only understanding of the severity of the Spotted Lanternfly’s effects on forests but also an emotional response to the harsh realities of nature conservation.
Artist Biography:
Heather Palecek is an analogue photographer working in the mediums of pinhole photography, lumen printing, cyanotype, and mixed media cameraless photography. She uses these historical photography processes in experimental ways to collaborate with mother nature in Palecek’s work. She has been working around the theme of relationships and connection for much of her artistic career; many of her artistic pursuits explore the relationships humans have to nature and their impact on the environment. Palecek’s goal as an artist is to create artwork that makes people think about their own relationship with mother nature and to inspire them to be more mindful.
Palecek has a degree in fine art education and photography from Montclair State University and has been a high school photography teacher in New Jersey since 2010. She teaches immersive workshops on alternative and historic photography processes and is the leader of the NJ Pinhole Club. Palecek’s award-winning work has been exhibited locally and internationally.
Readers can learn more about Heather Palecek and her work on her website here.
