twin sisters and artistic collaborators
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ARTIST STATEMENT
Perhaps unusual for identical twins, we haven’t always been close. Most of our adult lives have been spent in separate states developing our unique identities and art practices. After experiencing pandemic-related production slumps, we decided to motivate each other with regular check-ins. Soon we were talking about doing an artist residency together and we applied to Prairie Ronde in Vicksburg, Michigan, which is situated at the former Lee Paper Company mill. Recalling our childhood detective games, we embarked on a seven-week creative adventure beginning in July 2022. It was the first time we’d lived together in over thirty years.
In the children’s game “Jinx,” the word is exclaimed when two people say the same thing at the same time. From the moment we arrived at the Prairie Ronde Artist Residency, we experienced ongoing “twin moments,” as we call our simultaneous thoughts. Inspired by the historic mill and its varied, cavernous spaces—along with the adjacent residency house, charming village, welcoming community, and verdant landscape—we got lost in wonder and play. Days flowed together as ideas developed, echoed, and overlapped, resulting in a body of interconnected work. We nudged, influenced, and at times even corrected, each other. One of us called our process a corroboration; the other agreed. The jinx doubled and doubled again.
Perhaps unusual for identical twins, we haven’t always been close. Most of our adult lives have been spent in separate states developing our unique identities and art practices. After experiencing pandemic-related production slumps, we decided to motivate each other with regular check-ins. Soon we were talking about doing an artist residency together and we applied to Prairie Ronde in Vicksburg, Michigan, which is situated at the former Lee Paper Company mill. Recalling our childhood detective games, we embarked on a seven-week creative adventure beginning in July 2022. It was the first time we’d lived together in over thirty years.
In the children’s game “Jinx,” the word is exclaimed when two people say the same thing at the same time. From the moment we arrived at the Prairie Ronde Artist Residency, we experienced ongoing “twin moments,” as we call our simultaneous thoughts. Inspired by the historic mill and its varied, cavernous spaces—along with the adjacent residency house, charming village, welcoming community, and verdant landscape—we got lost in wonder and play. Days flowed together as ideas developed, echoed, and overlapped, resulting in a body of interconnected work. We nudged, influenced, and at times even corrected, each other. One of us called our process a corroboration; the other agreed. The jinx doubled and doubled again.
Double Jinx: Echoes at the Old Mill
SITE-SPECIFIC EXHIBITION
Hill's Building, Vicksburg, MI | September 17–October 16, 2022
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"Double Jinx: Echoes at the Old Mill" was the culmination of seven weeks together exploring the former Lee Paper Company mill at the Prairie Ronde Artist Residency in Vicksburg, Michigan. Artwork created in response to the mill was integrated into another historic site in the village, the Hills Building. The second floor, formerly a dance hall, became Rani’s Atelier, Colleen’s Gallery, and a shared projection room.
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Colleen and Rani give special thanks to the following people and businesses in the community of Vicksburg, Michigan: Chris Moore, John Kern, Jackie Koney, Alysse Thomas, Taylor Kallio, Frances Li, Morgan Macomber, Tom Hardy, Mindy Reno, Natalya Critchley, Deborah Harsha, Leanne Seaver, Hannah Vitu, Leah Richard, Steve Cowles, Syd Bastos, Melissa Paduk, Ron and Lupe Smith, Paper City Development, Frederick Construction, PJ's Frame-Up, Home Again Consignment, McKenzie's Bakery, Do It Best Hardware, Dollar General, B & G, Aaron's Music, Village Hide-a-Way, Jaspare's, Vickers, Distant Whistle, Vicksburg District Library, Thad Reeder Automotive, Schoolcraft Antique Mall, Grand Antique Gallery, the friendly ghosts of our air conditioner, and everyone who attended the Double Jinx exhibition and related events.