4:30pm: Artist Talk by Huma Bhabha in the Weatherspoon’s
Margaret and Bill Benjamin Auditorium

5:30–7pm: Reception in the Weatherspoon’s
Sculpture Courtyard; remarks at 6pm

Join us to hear from artist Huma Bhabha and celebrate the dedication of her monumental sculpture, “Receiver” (2019). Reception to follow. FREE!

Drawing equally from classical precedents such as ancient Egyptian and Greek sculpture and modern referents such as science fiction films, Huma Bhabha crafts enigmatic beings that engage our notions of humanity and our understanding of self and other. Bhabha’s figures greet us as mysterious time travelers, raising many questions. Is that grin gleeful or mischievous? Did this creature arrive here from the past or the future? Was it exhumed from an archeological dig or dropped down from a spaceship? Is it more human or divine, monster or alien?

In addition to these human involvements, Bhabha is also concerned with how we interact with the environment, and specifically the waste we produce and our inability to see the beauty and usefulness in the discarded. Countering these habits, she crafts her sculptures from found cork, Styrofoam, and other abandoned materials that she assembles, carves, and then casts in bronze. Receiver retains the textures of these materials, as well as additional marks added with paint—bits of red that suggest painted toenails and dabs of green and yellow that recall both graffiti and body art.

Location: Margaret and Bill Benjamin Auditorium (first floor) and Sculpture Courtyard