Wild Peninsula: Color & Sound in North Portland
Carolyn Hazel Drake, Michael Brooks, & Eric Jordan
October 7—29, 2023
Opening Reception
Saturday, October 7, 5-8 pmLive Performance
Saturday, October 7, 4pm @ Speck’s RecordsOpen Hours
Sat-Sun 12-5pmdrop in or by appointment
Email Info@carnationcontemporary.com
to schedule a visit
Exhibition Statement
Wild Peninsula: Color and Sound in North Portland explores the strange interplay of nature, industry, preservation, disuse, and restoration in the edge-of-wild spaces in and around St. Johns, Portland. Over years of near-daily walks taken in the neighborhood, where they are all long-term residents, textile artist Carolyn Hazel Drake, photographer Michael Brooks, and musician Eric Jordan have each found deep resonance in the specificity of the geography of the peninsula: the Baltimore Woods, Chimney Park, Smith & Bybee Wetlands, the Columbia Slough, the St Johns Prairie. This exhibition presents the impressions sampled from that natural and industrial palette in the form of woven tapestries, hand-appliqued textiles, and soundscapes.A catalog, including 7” vinyl sound recording, will be produced for this exhibition, and a live performance of the soundscapes will occur at Speck’s Records, in Kenton, on October 7th at 4pm.
This project is funded in part through generous support from the Regional Arts & Culture Council.
Artist
Carolyn Hazel Drake is a third-generation Oregonian who works with textiles, ceramics, and domestic materials. She references devotional objects and archetypal imagery to create objects and installations that are familiar yet cryptic. Drake studied literature & architecture at PSU’s Honors College and has an M.Ed. in art education. She has been awarded residencies at GLEAN, Leland Ironworks, Suttle Lodge, and Sitka. Her work is represented by Carnation Contemporary and Hanson Howard Gallery.Drake is an assistant professor of art education at Arizona State University. She divides her time between Phoenix and Portland. www.carolynhazeldrake.com / @carolynhazeldrake
Eric Jordan is a multi-disciplinary artist focusing primarily in sound. His sound works have been performed and presented in San Antonio, Austin, Marfa, Brooklyn, and Portland. He has also recorded music under his own name, Coo, Sleepy E, and Mort, and with other musicians in The Chronics, Scooter Einstein, Little Monkey Venus, Two-Toed Sloth, FRAZZ, The Ray Talley Dancers, and Notnauts. He’s composed and performed sound/music for film, dance, radio, site-specific events, and educational curricula. He DJs under ever-shifting DJ handles for radio and events, and was a guest contributor, curator, and advisor for Trickhouse.org.
