Mary Mattingly - March 2021
“The Surf Point residency has been an unforgettable experience. I can't do justice to how much appreciation I feel for this time at Surf Point. Waking up to the ocean, being able to spread out in a large studio space and make new work for three weeks has been transformative.”
Mary Mattingly is a Brooklyn-based artist whose work explores issues of sustainability, climate change and displacement. Mattingly combines photography, performance, portable architecture and sculptural ecosystems into poetic visions of adaptation and survival. In her work, we encounter nomads laboring under the weight of their possessions. We witness their pilgrimage over parched lands and swollen bodies of water. We see refugees of a tainted past seeking out a sustainable future in the natural world. We watch as they carve out an itinerant existence, embracing simple and adaptable strategies for survival. And we see the artist sifting through the particles of her own life in search of a sustainable footprint. In her ambitious multi-media projects, Mary Mattingly aspires to do more than issue a warning about environmental neglect and its aftermath. She offers specific solutions and architectural prototypes that we can build upon in our pursuit of a better life. She inspires hope that we can prepare for a changing world through innovative design and a restorative relationship with nature. Are we ready to embark upon the great migration of our time, from the shortsighted habits of the past to the nimble and sustainable ways of the future?
More of Mary’s work can be found here.