Sahara Gray

Press Release: Afield: New Work by Sarah Higgins

On Saturday, May 12, from 6 to 10 pm, Salon Mijangos will have an opening reception for new work by Sarah Higgins. The exhibit runs through Friday, June 1, when there will be a closing reception (also 6-10 pm) featuring work generated from a performance at the opening. On the same night as Higgins’ opening, Mark Mothersbaugh (of DEVO fame) will be showing his Postcard Diaries at FL!GHT Gallery next door, and Kelly Pierce will be showing new work in another neighboring space, the One9Zero6 Gallery.

Sarah Higgins’ installation at Salon Mijangos explores the imagery that accompanies rites of passage within American subcultures. Higgins draws parallels between the image of an adolescent hunter posing with his first kill and the staged prom photos that traditionally signal the loss of virginity. By connecting the first love with the first kill, Higgins raises questions about the formation of gender identity at pivotal moments in the transition to adulthood, as well as the conscious arrival of the adolescent within the cultural milieu that will form the basis of adult relationships.

The central piece in the exhibit is a forest backdrop with a taxidermied wild boar positioned in front of it. Photographs of people from the local arts community posing with the boar represent a cultural displacement, forcing both the participant and the viewer to question the crude trappings that determine our understanding of ourselves and others. During the opening the artist will take more photographs of selected audience members posing with the boar. This process is both a performance and a method of generating more photographic works, which will be on display at the closing.

In addition to the installation and photographs, Higgins is showing embroidery pieces that play with the imagery connected to these rites of passage, and are themselves translations of photographs into another medium. Thus, the viewer witnesses the reinterpretation and displacement of modern rite of passage imagery through a variety of media that each ask for a new kind of reflection on the nature of culture and identity, both historically and within contemporary culture.

Sarah Higgins received her BA from the Atlanta College of Art in 2002. While in Atlanta, she showed work at the Spruill Gallery, Art Farm, and several other galleries. Since moving to San Antonio in 2005, Higgins has exhibited at the Blue Star Gallery.