NOVEMBER 2021
CENTER AND NORTH GALLERIES
Still Life | Alanna DeRocchi
Through a series of sculptural still life tableaus, this work explores notions of disconnect, loss, and hopelessness felt in our changing world. Animal subjects share space with common objects to create symbolic connections to our human experience as it relates to the greater natural world.
Alanna DeRocchi is originally from Petersburg, Illinois. She received a BFA from Western Illinois University in 2004, and an MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2010. Since finishing her education, she has participated in several ceramic artist residency programs, including the Clay Arch Gimhae Museum Ceramic Arts Residency in Jilllye, South Korea, and the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Helena, MT. She was a 2017 Rasmuson Individual Artist Award recipient and a 2019 Alaska State Council on the Arts Career Opportunity Grant awardee. Her work is inspired by Alaska’s unique wildlife and environment. Alanna is currently a Term Assistant Professor of Ceramics and Studio Technician at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
In these tableaus, animal subjects share space with common objects to create symbolic connections within the human experience and the natural world. Remnants of animal life and taxidermy forms read like souvenirs, a record of a life lost. Preserved as trophies or treasures, animals remain tactile and real, yet still and disconnected. Through their recreation, they are saved from the tragedy of being forgotten. Confronting the animals as lifeless objects, we are forced to acknowledge the presence of death and reflect on our own behaviors.
Even the most mundane of objects can offer reflection when imbued with personal experience and significance. Some evoke meaningful memories, others can hold memories like stains; they haunt. Empty work boots become a poignant reminder of self-worth as you sit idle, removed from a daily routine. Good luck charms can symbolize comfort and hope in times of uncertainty or abandon. A small keepsake, like the rabbit’s foot or the buckeye, are held close and cherished as a wish to gain control of dire or despairing situations.
The creation of this work over the past year originated from overwhelming feelings of desperation and hopelessness. Each composition in Still Life aims to communicate feelings of detachment, longing, loss amongst the need for preservation and connection.