Heidi Kumao Exhibits in Florida
Heidi Kumao’s piece, “Tether,” is included in the exhibit, “Heads, Shoulders, Genes & Toes,” at the Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts in Tallahassee, FL. The show runs Feb.8 — March 31, 2013. This exhibit is a survey of fifteen artists whose work addresses current scientific practice, explores the social and psychological effects of disease, and questions the effect of contemporary medicine on how we experience the world. A color catalog accompanies the show. Presented in collaboration with the College of Medicine, the show includes: Joe Davis, Suzanne Anker, Adam Zaretsky, Beverly Fishman, and Brian Knep, among others. “Tether” explores the medical condition known as “Locked-in Syndrome” as described by Jean-Dominique Bauby in his book, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” After a massive stroke, Bauby was completely paralyzed except for the use of his left eye that he used to “blink out” his memoir letter by letter, and with exceptional humor. This piece is part of “Timed Release,” a series of video sculptures about surviving confinement. Part shadow play, part documentary, part optical illusion, these “situated cinema” works use visual storytelling to show how hostages, prisoners, slaves, victims of relocation camps and others have transcended the absurd by devising a survival strategy that necessitates careful navigation between powerlessness and regeneration through creativity.
http://mofa.cvatd.fsu.edu/2013/01/head-shoulders-genes-toes/