From Gothic Whimsy to Classic Horror: Art Show Highlights Students’ Take on Southern Living

From processing trauma and political strife to embracing the beauty in everyday life, creating art offers a place to rest and heal from life’s challenges. The art show on display in Coman Gallery until December 9 incorporates works birthed during a time of conflict, both nationally and locally, as our community works to revitalize after Helene. The show, entitled Southern Gothic, will culminate in an art reception on Friday, December 5, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., when student artists will be present, and refreshments will be served. 

Fine Arts Instructor Ani Volkan commented on the diversity of the exhibit submissions. Out of 22 pieces submitted, 16 were chosen – a mix of sculpture, ceramics, painting, and printmaking. “There is everything from whimsy to classic horror to the deeply personal,” she said. 

When jurying the show, Volkan aimed not only to select a variety of mediums but to choose work that related to the theme “Southern Gothic” in different ways.  The result takes the viewer on a sensual journey through a range of emotions, from laughs to sighs and full-body cringes. (The bloody ceramic head with a real fly in the mouth is a kicker!)

Ronja Nielsen, 20, is a Fine Arts student at A-B Tech who is on track to graduate this semester. Nielsen created a sculpture out of a book, shaping pages into a hand that reaches up as if grasping for help. The piece sprang out of a class project where students were asked to use a book as a starting point for sculpting. Generally, Nielsen, who uses they/them pronouns, works in digital illustration, but they enjoyed working to create a 3D design. When choosing a theme for their work, Nielsen arrived on Helene out of a desire to acknowledge the “massive, collectively traumatizing event.” Making the connection between flood waters and the written word seemed natural. “The image of drowning in words felt apt,” Nielsen said. 

For Julius Coggins, also 20, the theme Southern Gothic sparked ideas about what it means to be part of a marginalized community in the South. Coggins’ print, rendered in red, white, and black, depicts a black figure clutching a two-headed lamb in what appears to be a church sanctuary. In the background, beside a black cross, two windows are boarded, and a splash of red blood covers the floor. “God loves you, but not enough to save you,” the print reads. This message, drawn from a song lyric by transgender singer-songwriter Ethel Cain, sits close to Coggins’ heart. 

“I wanted to portray a person with a completely ambiguous identity (regarding) age, race, ethnicity, and gender identity.”  Christianity, he points out, often explains life’s difficulties by saying they are part of God’s plan. “I don’t believe that’s true,” he said. “Nobody deserves to suffer. Ultimately, the only person looking out for your best interests is you, and you must be the one to save yourself.”

For Travis Hollifield, 38, the theme conjured up Spanish moss-laden oaks and centuries-old tombstones. Hollifield, a Graphic Design student, works primarily in charcoal, which he says is both very meditative to handle and very forgiving. Hollifield recently visited Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah with his wife, Marley, a Georgia native, and snapped a photo of her near her family’s burial plot. 

“When I heard the theme of this show, my mind went right to that photo,” he said. The resulting charcoal drawing depicts his wife dressed seemingly in funeral attire, standing in front of tombstones and twisting oak trees. The soft charcoal grays and blacks invite the viewer into the scene and give a sense of peace, reminding us that art, in its many forms, provides a resting place for the living.