Dedicated to reflecting on the power of loss and the healing potential of grief, “Remembrance” by Zachari Logan, is a timely exhibit.
Featured within the Peabody Essex Museum the lessons of “Remembrance” reach out to us when we seem to need them most. Enveloped in color cues, the gallery walls of this exhibit feel etherial, intimate and meditative. Be forewarned however, spending time immersed in this collection is likely to elicit powerful feelings.
PEM invites visitors to enter the third floor space in silence and with respect, open to accepting the emotions, associations and memories that may arise. This sensitive exhibition is spiritually complex, and made even more so in context with the senseless loss of life in Uvalde,Texas on Tuesday May,24th.
Contemplating Zachari Logan’s thesis on “Remembrance ” PEM 5/2022
Zachari Logan’s work figuratively embodies the qualities of life and the latent beauty of it’s inevitable transitions. This small meditation traces the metronomic pattern of time where metaphoric seeds of death sway in perpetuity from darkness into a bright and meaningful future. Stenciled onto the gallery wall is Logan’s salutary wish ” May we all transform our suffering into joy, and may the tears we shed yesterday or today lead us to move bravely into tomorrow.”
The galleries are psychologically transportive. Cerulean walls are lined with delicate mylar etchings. Easy to appreciate, the ambiance is organic. Closer examination of the subjects proximity to life’s edge adds tension and gravitas to the collective thoughts.
A change is style and color saturation intensifies the gallery vibe. Logan’s work immediately feels more urgent and haunting.
“Remembrance” concludes in a dimly lit ante-room with two symbolic drawings of mortality. The Urn and the Wreath are understood as translations of nature’s perpetual cycle of life. Minimalistic in content, the mood of the ante-room is contemplative, filled with tranquility, welcoming guests to rest and consider sharing on an i-pad a written memorial to a loved one.
Accepting the irrefutable nature of impermanence, this exhibition encourages us to experience loss without political diatribe. “Remembrance” honors life and respects the role grief holds in the soul of human experience. It gives space to pain and the time necessary to let go of past versions of ourselves.
“She” encourages you to see “Remembrance” when you’re able. Zachari Logan’s work will remain at the PEM until May 7th, 2023.
