Laura Brannon 

Cells Interlinked 

May 3 - 24, 2024 2024 

Opie Gallery 

​

I can't tell you how I knew - but I did know that I had crossed the border. Everything I loved was lost / But no aorta could report regret…And blood-black nothingness began to spin / a system of cells interlinked within / Cells interlinked within cells interlinked / Within one stem. / And dreadfully distinct / Against the dark, a tall white fountain played. / I realized, of course, that it was made / Not of our atoms; that the sense behind / The scene was not our sense. –Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire 

 

Cells Interlinked is a story of grief, both personal and collective. Inspired by  science and post-apocalyptic fiction, including Nabokov’s Pale Fire and the Blade Runner films, mutated soft forms and strange quilted landscapes visually express grief for the world we once knew becoming unrecognizable. 

 

In this work, Laura Brannon explores how tactile, slow making creates space to process both personal loss–of their father and three grandparents–and collective loss–of the natural environment. The climate’s devastation is contributed to and mirrored by the destructive forces of our political landscape. What happened to the imagined “American Dream" for all, and where does it leave future generations? 

 

In order to work through these overlapping griefs, Brannon uses soft sculpture and quilting to imagine possible futures that parallel their own experiences. Cells Interlinked follows the story of Sybil: a young adult living in the year 2,135 during the post-apocalypse. Quilted landscapes and fragments of writing record Sybil’s journey through their newly scarred world. Despite the fear and strangeness of the world they find themselves in, Brannon uses the softness and familiarity of textiles to imply the hope of safe haven in their hostile environment. 

 

Artist Statement 

There is a high value placed on productivity in our society which is in sharp contrast to the natural world. My quilting and soft sculpture practice helps me slow down and sit with my thoughts as a response to the pace of our contemporary landscape. Using natural dyes and fiber I explore the ephemeral cycles and seasons of nature and consider how humanity and the living world are intrinsically tied together. I question how societies’ general disconnection with nature affects our bodies and psyche and I strive to actively reengage with the world around me.

  

 

Bio

Laura Brannon is a student at the Kansas City Art Institute and will graduate from the fiber department in the spring of 2024. They are an only child who grew up in rural Florida exploring swamps, wooded areas, and beaches. Curiosity and appreciation of nature and taking pride in craft were instilled in them as a young child by their father and grandfather. Post-apocalyptic narratives and science fiction, the natural world, and abstract painting inspire their work. The recent passing of their father and grandfather has been influential on their art making practice and outlook on their work and life.