A Sense of Place 47°-80° N: Bethany Springer

A Sense of Place 47° - 80° N explores issues of habitation and identity in Springer's multi-media aesthetics. Using the camera or constructed pieces of metal, Springer transforms the gallery cube into a vessel of discovery. Her work investigates the space between romantic idealism and stark realism. With heightened influence by history, heritage, globalization, and the current age of information overload, Springer's work presents the contours of systems and constructs with which we often surround ourselves to create awareness and dialogue. 

Unidentifiable constructed floor pieces commingle with familiar found objects; photographs offer a sense of familiarity, yet dotted with apparently random structures or items to generate consciousness of the constantly accelerating world. Her installations ask if it is possible to experience that sense of being set adrift into an abyss in a society that is increasingly connected? In the quest to plant a dialectic between "lost-ness" and "found-ness" Springer's work examines how place is established, reinforced, and abandoned through the juxtaposition of seemingly disparate historical and contemporary images.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website