Hazel Batrezchavez & Serena Hocharoen
INTERSECTION/SPACE

February 3rd - 25th, 2017
Reception: Fri, Feb 3, 6-8p at PS1

An exploration into the artists’ experiences as women of color integrating and navigating their bodies in the spaces that they occupy. Taking advantage of the tension between contrasting materials such as handmade paper and metal and combining processes and mediums, their work takes the form of installation, sculpture, and bookwork and engages with “themes of time, space and skin” (Batrezchavez) and “shame, guilt, and smallness...associated with the forming and unforming of identity for marginalized bodies” (Hocharoen).

Hazel Batrezchavez:
My art practice explores themes of time, space, and skin through material and metal-structures. These themes emerged during my time at Grinnell College, as I pursued my interests in attending and organizing events that brought awareness to oppressive ideologies and how they can work to police and marginalize certain bodies of color. My involvement in these events forced me to revisit my painfully raw experiences of trying to fit into the private institutional world. While at the same time these experiences functioned as the driving force behind decisions made about material, texture and size, as I work with large-scale metal sculptures.

Serena Hocharoen:
Much like Hazel, upon moving to Grinnell College, I was exposed to people and ideas that changed my worldview, like feminism and various other social justice issues. Through these lens, I have constantly been learning and rethinking about my experiences navigating spaces as a growing woman of color. In my work I use handmade paper in conjunction with drawings and print media, to make visible this learning process, searching for a sense of place and belonging. My work in this show reflects on feelings such as shame, guilt, and smallness, that are associated with the forming and unforming of identity for marginalized bodies.

Gallery hours:
Tue 6-8p & Fri, Sat, Sun 1-3p
or by appointment 319.855.1985