POINT OF ORIGIN explores the expanse of time connected to place through humble mud. As it takes 500 to thousands of years to form 1 inch of topsoil, LaMere travels back in time when plunging a gardening spade into the ground. With one fell scoop, the residue of everything that has ever lived or died there, every thrill, and every disappointment, is brought to the cusp of the current moment. The concept of linear time fissures and falls in on itself as it is compressed into an indivisible sphere.
In this series, LaMere embarks on a journey to understand identity as the accumulation of experiences mediated by place. This exhibition encompasses a selection of hand-formed soil spheres chosen from a collection of over 60 soil samples gathered from across the country in response to events of personal importance. These soil samples are sifted to remove man-made detritus, and with the addition of water, the mud is compressed by hand to form polished spheres, evoking the geologic process of time and pressure.
This site-specific installation visualizes the overwhelming attempt at acknowledging events that influenced the making of a place. In turn, viewers are invited to consider the expanse of time as an active influence on our present sense of self.
LaMere spent the first twenty-five years of life in southern Wisconsin on the fringe of suburbia and farmland. Having received a BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (2011), LaMere relocated to Lubbock, Texas in 2014 to complete her MFA from Texas Tech University (2017). After graduation, she participated in the Land Art of the American West program traveling over 6,000 miles and camping through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. She has completed multiple technical ceramic research grants, the most recent being the NCECA Graduate Student Fellowship (2015), and is currently a Fulbright semi-finalist for an Independent Research Grant to Japan. LaMere completed an eleven-month artist residency at The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, teaches art courses at Art League Houston, and maintains a studio at Box13 ArtSpace. LaMere was recently selected as one of two Guest Artists from an international open call to participate in a twelve-month ceramic artist residency at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park in Shigaraki, Japan. Upon completion of the residency, two of her works will be retained for the permanent collection at the Museum of Contemporary Ceramics in Shigaraki, Japan.
https://www.nicollelamere.com/