B E S T I A R Y
Solo MFA Thesis Exhibition
April 16 - 28, 2018, Reception April 20, 2018
Tandem Press Apex Gallery | Madison, WI

B E S T I A R Y
Frogman's Print Workshop
Graduate Student Scholarship Exhibition
July 1 - 14, Reception July 5, 2018
Artist Talk in the Gallery July 2 & July 9 1:30-1:50pm
University of Nebraska- Omaha
Weber Fine Arts, Hexagon Gallery | Omaha, NE

 
In the anthropomorphized world of Bestiary flora and fauna act as surrogates, illustrating certain aspects of the human condition. Drawn from natural history, symbology, wunderkammers, and feminism, Elizabeth Jean Younce uses the vocabularies of scientific, medical, and children’s-book illustration to investigate the psychology within coded references and historically loaded images.

  The key protagonist in this symbolic universe is the Cygnus sapiens. In the light of a feminist perspective this swan-human hybrid embodies existentialism through the metaphorical weight of fertility and perseverance. Bestiary invites a second look at the assumptions society has established in our collective psyche. It turns narrative into a tool, exposing ingrained beliefs. The symbols suggest intentional dualities and invite a multiplicity of possible interpretations.

  On some level we are all fragile beings with instantaneous failure an ever-present possibility, yet nature is resilient and the impulse to survive is strong. Life is sublime despite all of its cruelty.