Art in Transition was a series of three exhibitions that combined North Carolina Artists with international artists through specific themes. CAM, transformed previously unoccupied buildings in Raleigh into temporary museum spaces for the purposes of each exhibition . The first exhibition from this series, was titled Memories of Nature. It presented the work of five artists from North Carolina and six artists from Europe.
Memories of Nature focused on our contemporary perception of Nature. The title of the exhibition, referred to artworks that give expression to the vanishing of “Nature”, to artworks that do not presuppose nature anymore but search for and follow traces of the natural within our daily lives. The works included, illustrated the culturally shaped perspective on nature that exists in our imagination, in our memories and in our unconsciousness. The artists presented a view of nature as a life-giving source that provides us with the essential metaphors to improve our understanding of our own existence. The exhibition emphasized our dependence on the vitality of organic life, its spontaneity and regenerative power while many works also underscore that we –as bodies- are a part of nature ourselves. Memories of Nature questions the Western notion of nature as something ‘out there’, ‘not ourselves’ and a ‘domain which can take care of itself’. The works create awareness of our relationship of the natural world and how we perceive the natural environment we live in.
Danae Stratou’s Breathe… was a site related video installation specifically created for the exhibition.
