Saving Grace: Photographs of the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades from Suda House

 

February 22 - April 9

Artist Reception: Tuesday, March 22, 4-7pm

 

Exhibition presented in partnership with Surfrider Foundation San Diego County

 

 “They were the daughters of Atlas, seven in number.
Their names were Electra, Maia, Taygete, Alcyone, Merope, Celaeno, Sterope.
Orion pursued them but they fled before him.
Until Zeus placed them in the heavens as stars
Only six stars are clearly visible. 
The seventh is invisible except to those who have specially keen sight.”
 - Edith Hamilton, Mythology

 

This spring semester the Hyde Art Gallery will be transformed into an aquatic temple dedicated to the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades. Meticulously captured by photographer Suda House, the daughters of Atlas have secretly returned to earth, inhabiting Grossmont College’s Performing and Visual Art Center, to spread awareness of the impending doom of a changing climate and humanity’s wasteful use and disposal of single-use plastics. Through these large-scale celestial photographs and an accompanying installation of plastic refuse, House seeks humanity’s reprieve from the worst-case scenarios of ecological collapse and postulates a solution grounded in history, scientific data, and mythic plausibility. Climate change is here and House’s narrative premise highlights the peril our progeny will confront. While many have ignored the inevitable, few have taken action and others have pleaded up to the sky, calling for help to avert the inescapable destruction of our world.

 

Limited edition prints of The Seven Sisters on display will be available for purchase. All proceeds will be donated to the Surfrider Foundation San Diego County. This powerful network of grassroots activists is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves and beaches, for all people. The San Diego chapter serves as the first response to local threats to our 70+ miles of coastline.

 

Suda House is a photographer of national and international reputation living and working in San Diego. She has taught photographic processes since 1977, first in the Los Angeles area and from 1980 she has been a professor of art and photography at Grossmont College, where she has also served as Art Department Chair and coordinated the Digital Media Arts Lab. Presently she is a trustee with the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA), where she chairs the Visual Learning Committee.

 

Saving Grace will be on display at Grossmont College’s Hyde Art Gallery from February 22nd until April 9th 2022. An artist reception will be held on March 22nd from 4:00pm - 7:00pm. Walk-in visitation is available for all students currently enrolled in any on-campus classes or any staff and faculty already approved to be on campus. Students learning remotely, faculty and staff operating remotely, and the general public can request an appointment to view the exhibition. To schedule a visit, please contact alex.decosta@gcccd.edu.