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Jannah Sexton Atkins: Prayer Markers – Ecological Relics

February 3 – April 8, 2023

About the Artist

Jannah Sexton Atkins’ series Prayer Markers combines found and recycled objects with hand-drawn and sculpted elements. These mixed media assemblages contemplate society’s connection to nature. Each of the artworks in the exhibition includes a portrait of an insect, bird, fish or plant. Sexton Atkins playfully combines these portraits with salvaged, societal waste. The resulting Markers encourage connection and responsibility to our planet.   

Jannah is one of six artists selected for the Alaska State Museum 2020-2023 Solo Artist Exhibition Series along with artists Alison Bremner Naxshageit, Ben Huff, Sonya Kelliher-Combs, Gail Priday, and Mitch Watley.

Image credit: Prayer Markers - Wake for the Wetlands, mixed media assemblage, found objects.

Artist Talk

 

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Alaska State Museum Solo Artist Jannah Sexton-Atkins gives a lecture about her mixed media works as aesthetic inquiries into where science and humanity intersect.

Gallery

Select an image to view larger.

  1. View looking into the room with mixed media assemblages on the wall. Artist’s statement and exhibit title are displayed at entrance.
  2. view showing multiple wall-hung mixed media assemblages
  3. A red wall-hung solid frame block containing an iron cross with perched birds at the top, a map of the arctic circle in the middle, and a metal relief with a floral pattern on the bottom.
  4. A wall-hung solid frame block painted brown with a relief-carved flower, stem and roots and a bee in the flower.
  5. A wall-hung solid frame block with a wooden top with a carved tree relief design. The bottom portion contains stacked and overlapping relief carved insects.
  6. A wall-hung solid frame block covered in a flower-patterned lace. A small, rounded frame is hung over the top and contains a metal flower in the center.
  7. Two wall-hung solid frame blocks, stacked. The top plinth depicts a floral form carved in relief. The bottom plinth depicts skeletal feet and a beetle, also carved in relief.
  8. View showing multiple wall-hung mixed media assemblages.
  9. View showing multiple wall-hung mixed media assemblages.
  10. A wall-hung solid frame block with a carved face at the top, a drawing of a bee below, and a three-dimensional metal flower at the bottom.
  11. A wall-hung solid frame block lined on the sides with ink drawings of insect bodies, an illustration of a hoverfly at the bottom, a pair of scissors above, and a metal bird at the top.
  12. A wall-hung solid frame block lined on the sides with drawings of frogs and a low relief filigree pattern at the top and center with a metal frog at the front.
  13. View showing multiple wall-hung mixed media assemblages
  14. A wall-hung solid frame block, with an illustration of a bird skull at the top, illustrations of bones running along the sides, and a cut-out metal tree in the center.
  15. A wall-hung solid frame block with carved animal sculptures displayed in a grid. Animals include a fish, bee, owl, bird, rabbit, butterfly, and fox.
    16. A white wall-hung solid frame block with two white bird sculptures at the top and a metal flower in the middle.
  16. View showing multiple wall-hung mixed media assemblages
  17. A blue wall-hung solid frame block lined with carved posts on the side and illustrations of blue birds, feathers, and a butterfly at the center.
  18. A wall-hung solid frame block with carved elements depicting floral patterns, a beetle, and a bee.
  19. View showing multiple wall-hung mixed media assemblages
  20. View showing multiple wall-hung mixed media assemblages
  21. A carved frame with a wooden sculpture of a woman in the center. A carved wooden hummingbird is perched on the woman’s head.
  23. A wall-hung solid frame block with white tile shapes surrounding a wooden intricately carved disc with a bee carved from white porcelain at its center.
  24. A wall-hung solid wood block with carved floral elements and an owl with amber varnish.
  25. A black wooden disc with an attached drawer. Perched on the drawer are three wood-carved monks and a carved porcelain frog.
  26. A black wall-hung solid frame block with a carved floral motif, black and white squares with carved bees perched on top, and a drawer with a flower-shaped knob.
  27. view showing multiple wall-hung mixed media assemblages

Artist's Statement

My aesthetic inquiry intersects science and issues concerning the physiological processes of the global landscape and humanity’s impact upon its architectural design.  In direct opposition to the Buddhist tenet of Ahimsa, humanity violently disrupts the complex interconnected web of Earth’s organic life forms’ ability to perform critical tasks for healthy survival. As an environmental artist and botanical steward of our natural environment, I create land and gallery projects that advocate for the rights of all living organisms to have sustainable organic habitat.

My creative process builds from observations, research and collection.  I am compelled to tell stories about connective relationships in nature and collect materials to develop ecological concepts and environments to support the regeneration of natural urban habitat for pollinators, birds and all living beings that have prospered on planet Earth.

My artistic practice experiments with assemblages of organic, found or hand craft objects and materials, drawings, and carved or built sculptural relief.  I thrive on the creative challenge of transforming what I collect or build from the refuse of humanity into formal art forms featuring intimate details crafted in inventive ways to connect the viewer to the healing power of nature.

These ecological relics, shrines and altar constructs expand appreciation for Earth’s harmonic bountiful architectural design as powerful healing medicine, and provide a meditative playful aesthetic, encouraging an empathetic kinship toward all life forms.  They mark an uncertain future for Earth’s elegantly designed ecosystems, the value of Earth’s healing energy and the urgent need for the regeneration of organic habitat to rightfully prosper all living beings.

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