Exhibition: “Witnesses: James Welling / Chris Welsby”

University Galleries of Illinois State University is pleased to present Witnesses: James Welling / Chris Welsby. The exhibition will be on view March 1 through March 31, 2024. All events are free and open to the public.

“Witnesses” comprises recent work by two artists, the photographer James Welling and the filmmaker Chris Welsby. Throughout the exhibition, images of the natural world and of human constructions abandoned within it have been processed or manipulated in ways that disturb a viewer’s simple delight in what is being represented. Botanical studies, landscapes, and views of weed-eaten structures are corrupted in these artworks by slight but consuming indications of each artist’s method. Borrowing its title from a quote by the 18th-century German playwright Friedrich Schiller, the exhibition deals with the modern problem of a lost oneness with nature, and with the difficulties inherent in trying to regain it.

Installation view of the exhibition Witnesses: James Welling / Chris Welsby, curated by Troy Sherman. This show was on view at University Galleries of Illinois State University from March 1 through March 31, 2024. Photo Credit: Jade Nguyen.