Rani - C/R

DOUBLE JINX ARTWORK

RANI'S WORK

Rani's Atelier was a sight-specific installation comprised of Illustration, sculpture, painting, 3D drawing, and photography. Additionally, a short film and a sound piece were presented in the shared projection room.

STATEMENT:
My time in Vicksburg was rich with sensory inspiration—from the vast interior spaces of the abandoned mill, which seemed both historic and futuristic, to the saturated greens and blues of the surrounding countryside and sky, to the sounds of industry and travel in the passing trains and of wonder and freedom in bird songs, rain, and the wind in the trees. My imagination was on fire from the stories and images of the mill in its heyday, and from the sense of mystery palpable in the shadowy recesses of its now empty rooms and floors.
Added to that was the experience of living with and exploring the mill and the town with my twin sister, throwing ideas back and forth with sporadic outbursts of “I just had another idea!”

I came to the residency knowing I’d work with my sister, but not knowing concretely what my subject or materials would be. But as the weeks unfolded, these crystallized. I sought to work in as many mediums as I could to capture the memories of our time there. My pieces became a way to put those seven weeks—our being together again, running around in constant banter, exploring places and unraveling some unknown mystery, just as we had done as kids—in a time capsule of sorts. When we entered the Hills Building, the site we selected for our final exhibition, we were struck by the space. The first room we entered had a domestic feel, so Colleen and I decided to install my work in that space to convey the sense of entering an artist's home studio environment, highlighting the intersection of art-making with daily life.