"Cyclical Rhythms"

A new month sees another swell exhibition opening at Clamp Light. For this exhibit, artists Jose Balli and Naomi Wanjiku will share new works that, while quite different in composition and style, all focus loosely on the concept of cycles — in the natural world, in society and in the realm of the personal. Both artists tease out contemplation on “rebirth, fertility, rejuvenation, spirituality and the cyclical nature of identity.” Wanjiku, a Kenyan artist with deep ties to historical empowerment movements in that country, will present huge galvanized metal pieces known in Swahili as mabati. In mimicking the effects of weather in her process with these giant sheets, Wanjiku alludes to nature’s cycles while simultaneously making reference to the Mabati Women’s Group of the 1960s, which saw women burdened with all manner of homestead work while men traveled for work. Balli, for his part, will show mixed-media work that uses shed rattlesnake skin and looks to “juxtapose the delicate rattlesnake skin against the historical Catholic iconographic figure [of the Virgen de Guadalupe] and its pre-Columbian origin.” Following the opening reception, "Cyclical Rhythms" remains on view by appointment through December 1.