Highlighted under a beam of lights, red yarn is woven together to spell out the word “UNREPRESSED” and is the title of Lindsey Hayakawa’s art exhibit in the Borland Gallery.
Hayakawa (senior-fine arts) said she created an exhibit to highlight her skills in combining ceramics with textiles and other mediums. She is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in fine arts, focusing in ceramics.
She said that after working with ceramics she became interested in crochet and decided to combine the two.
“The yarn pieces convey that they are soft and easily recognizable while they both have an honesty in the materials that can be seen through the hand marks and the stitches in the yarn,” she said.
In the middle of the gallery stand six large sculptures in the center of the room, accented by a black curtain behind them with pink designs stitched into it. Facing that hangs the intricate knitting of the word “UNREPRESSED” that overlooks the rest of her work.
Hayakawa said that her inspiration for her work came from the idea of “freeing [her] mind, vulnerability and not forcing [her] hand.”
She said she feels that there are many things going on in the world that people try to control, which creates a lot of stress and anxiety. For her exhibit, she said she wanted to lose some of her control and give into her personal obsessions.
“I want the viewer to transcend reality and to feel engulfed in an overwhelming feeling,” she said. “This exhibition represents my feelings of vulnerability and obsession, which I think everyone should try and feel.”
Stephen Carpenter, professor of art education, visited the gallery and admired the variety of the artwork. He said that he was intrigued by the combination of different material to create the pieces.
“I liked the mixed media of the fabric and textile, also the knitted pieces being worn by the sculptures is interesting,” he said. “The center piece with the six sculptures works as one unit, and it’s curious to see ceramic and fabric combined, but overall I think it works very well.”
Carpenter said he loves visiting the Borland Gallery because “this space always has such a variety, and when [he] stumble[s] in here, it is always a surprise what [he’s] going to see.”
The Multicultural Director of the College of Art and Architecture Curt Marshall visited the gallery and was also interested in Hayakawa’s art.
“I like her versatility with the ceramics, and the center piece reminds me of an ancient ruin, something that you would see that has been dug up and reveals a symbol of a lost culture,” he said.
Marshall said he respected Hayakawa’s skills, adding “it’s obvious she’s got different talents ranging from her use of cloth to ceramics.”
The exhibition will run until Friday with visiting hours from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
After looking at the end of the knitting for “UNREPRESSED,” it’s shown that the red yarn holding everything together starts to unravel to the floor.
Carpenter said he believes this “suggests a continuation or an unraveling of her work.”
