VIDEO: Artist Insight with Joan Wyand

On June, 22 2018 Joan Wyand, a performance artist and skilled maker with an intense awareness of our material environment, sat down with Paris Paris of AS220 galleries to do a short Audio/video artist insight at her current show titled “Wake up” located at Worlds Fair Gallery in Providence, RI.

Joan spoke about in-depth about her show titled “Wake Up” as-well as speaking about her process of finding used/”junk” material, creating the artwork, and how she wishes people to perceive these current works. Recently Joan Wyand showcased artwork at the AS220 Project Space.

Through this body of work, I want viewers to see and value the materials we discard, and consider their own efforts towards reusability.  Every piece in the show is cast from trash.  I love ceramics because it is infinitely reusable until it breaks, and when it does breaks is becomes another rock.  Plastic however is frequently used only once, and when is discarded becomes toxic in our environment.  The large wall of small works was installed to convey the feeling of finding a shoreline treasure.   The row of flower landscapes is meant to show the cycle of plastic in our natural systems and also comment on our obliviousness to its impact.   The last part to this show is the functional ceramics.  Hand-thrown reusable cups and a variety of simple cast ceramic platters.  It is important that we begin carrying around reusable dishware if you haven’t already.  Simple actions make a big difference on a large scale.  The title of the show ‘Wake Up’ references the impact of our culture on water systems where I gathered the materials and also alludes to the social justice that must occur alongside a shift in our material culture.

I am so grateful to Paris for interviewing me for this artist insight.   I’m excited for viewers to learn more about my thoughts and process behind these pieces, and have a chance to speak publicly about taking action in our world right now.  The gallery will be open, Thursday 6-28-2018 from 5-7pm, with more open hours to be announced.

Gallery hour updates will be posted on Instagram @joanwyand and @worldsfairgallery