Reception for Humans of Northampton: Wednesday June 10, 5:30-7:30 PM

Reception for Pat Bega and Akinbo Akinnuoye: Saturday June 13, 2-4 PM

PhotoVoice

Akinbo Akinnuoye

Humans of Northampton
Through the combination of photography and narratives, local teens explore the truth behind the media headlines of the Opioid Epidemic. Interviews with health care professionals, law enforcement, harm reduction specialists, people in recovery, and everyday residents of Northampton all converge in this exhibit to shed light on Opioids and the impact they are having on our community. Brought to you by the Teen Advocacy Group of Northampton High School and the Northampton Prevention Coalition.

“Airborne”, Pat Bega‘s recent body of mixed-­media pieces, was inspired by a fragment of vintage parachute that was brought home by a relative after World War II. The substantial yet translucent nature of this artifact suggested a new use as a medium for the experimental relief paintings that had been a focus for the last several years. Over time, theawareness of its origin evoked respect for the material itself. The desire to honor the sacrifice and bravery of the warriors emerged in the creation of this work, as well as the idea of transforming, through art, an object of war into a meditation on peace.

A resident of Ashfield, Pat grew up in upstate New York, and moved to western Massachusetts for a residency at Cummington Community of the Arts.

Akinbo Akinnuoye – Collage Artist
Artist’s Statement: I like working with images in unexpected ways. Some work tells a story, while others are whims of immediate subconscious. Much of my work is a commentary on culture and how the subjects of my works interact with the environments that I have created for them. Color and perspective play a major role.

I have been working mostly in collage for 15 years. Despite other artistic pursuits (film, woodworking), I’ve always done collages – some as gift wrap. I figured even if it’s a bad gift, friends and family would recognize the effort that went into the gift wrap I made.  Collage has also been therapeutic for me, bringing a certain harmony to an unlikely assortment of images and events.

After the recent economic crisis, I reevaluated what I wanted for myself artistically. I realized that I wanted to do something for me, instead of maintaining other people’s works through art restoration. However, I wouldn’t mind my work being preserved for the ages – ironically, the work that began as discarded refuse before I re-purposed it.

I want the viewer to look at the selected collages as dreamscapes, with vivid color use and play on perspective and scale that dreams offer. I wanted to recreate the way the mind alters what it deems important for its own “reality” and present it with some kind of narrative. Although you may see only one scene or place, the mind creates multiple interpretations.