A piece by Jeremy Martin. Oil on wood board.

Birmingham-Southern Bachelor of Fine Arts candidates have their work on display in the Durbin Galley. The five students have curated their senior work and created presentations on the themes within each of their collections. The show opened March 22 and will run through Friday, April 9.

The gallery space is currently open to the campus community, following COVID-19 safety protocols and limited capacity requirements. For those off campus, see the presentations and videos below for a look at what’s on display.

Laura Cohen answers the question “What is home?” in her prints and sculpture that explore place. “When we think of home, we might nostalgically remember family and the places we grew up that encapsulate the majority of our childhood memories,” she says. “Some might have an adverse perspective on the word.”

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Maddie Foss focuses on the repression of female sexuality. “The main point of my work is to go directly against social expectations by using shock factor and touches of lighthearted humor,” she says. “I make art to express my frustrations with how our culture discusses sex, the sexism I’ve experienced, and thoughts about my own identity as a woman.”

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Jeremy Martin explores the discomfort and trauma of being Black in America. “The paintings depict the distress of being trapped in a system that sees your existence as lesser due to the color of your skin,” he explains in his artist statement. “I pursue to convey the struggle to break free of a system that is unjust and lopsided.”

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Emily Mezick reimagines a cabinet of curiosities in her work. “The fantastical arrangement of the oddities found in the cabinets of curiosity creates a fundamental link between the human and the natural,” she says.

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Sarah Wilkes has titled her collection of photography “The Divine Feminine,” made up of portraits and self-portraits. “I explore topics ranging from loneliness and loss to sexual uncertainty and unrequited affection,” she says. “I reflect the grief of heart and mind caused by the disruption of innocence.”

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This show is the second of three exhibitions hosted by the Department of Art and Art History. Exhibition hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday.

See work from the previous Durbin Gallery show – work from art faculty Steve Cole and Kevin Shook – in our virtual gallery. Coming April 26 is the Art Student League’s Juried Student Exhibition, which is accepting submissions now. Email [email protected] for more information.