WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, SportsVisual artist Cynthia Farnell exhibits in McClellanville

Visual artist Cynthia Farnell exhibits in McClellanville

From Coastal Carolina University:

CONWAY, SC - "Presence (Veils)" a solo exhibition by visual artist Cynthia Farnell, will be on view at The McClellanville Arts Center in McClellanville from May 22 through June 26.

 The public is invited to an opening reception with the artist on Saturday, from 6 to 9 p.m. The arts center is located at 733 Pickney St.

Farnell, of Conway, is assistant professor of visual arts and director of the Rebecca Randall Bryan Art Gallery at Coastal Carolina University.

Presence (Veils) consists of diaphanous hanging banners printed on silk, framed portraits printed on watercolor paper and a projected montage of still and moving images. The mingling of the vintage portraits of women with my own contemporary pictures of Southern landscapes is a way to link the women's lives with mine. Acknowledging the veiled and inaccurate nature of memory, as well as its power to reveal, I seek to create visual anchors in the shifting terrain of contemporary life."

"The folklore of some cultures includes the belief that a baby born with a ‘veil' (caul) has the ability to see and communicate with the spirit world," Farnell said. "Similarly, the photographic image can also be thought of as a magical veil that allows us to see into and respond to, the world of the past. The information that the photograph reveals is limited, however, and we are left to invent mythic narratives about the persons, places and things depicted."

Farnell is a multi-disciplinary visual artist. The scope of her work encompasses a range of media including photography, video and installation. She exhibits her work nationally and internationally. She has been awarded residencies at The Sloss Furnaces Metal Arts Program in Birmingham, AL, and at the Virginia Center For Creative Arts in Amherst, VA.

Her work is in the permanent collection of the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. She has received grants to support her work from the South Carolina Arts Commission, The Horry County Arts and Cultural Council and Coastal Carolina University.

Farnell earned her M.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design, her B.F.A. from Auburn University and a Certificate of General Studies of Photography from The International Center of Photography in New York City.