“All That Remains”.
That’s the title senior Bachelor of Fine Arts students Sydney Hickman and Michael Kidwell decided on for their senior show — one they would do together.
“We’ve been through a lot together, so the end of last year or the year before we decided that we wanted to do it together,” said Hickman, who has been friends with Kidwell since they both came to Emporia State.
The Haysville and Burlingame, Kansas natives opened their senior show on April 3 during Emporia First Friday.
The exhibit, which bridges “intentional process and inherited ideas to explore connections between presence and reflection,” couples Hickman’s mosaics and quilt-inspired ceramics with Kidwell’s focus on paintings and displays of nature and its scenery.
“Michael’s really nature-oriented. He likes to think about the space that he inhibits and what helps calm him down, or like the spaces that he goes to to clear his mind and then angels, which I think is really awesome,” she said, who explained that the two worked to reflect those things that are “some of the most important things to us.”
Importance for Hickman is found in quilts, vintage and antiques, functional, everyday objects that “hold presence through use” and the societal expectations of women.
“I love quilts, I have quilts that are from, like, probably at least four generations and I use them in everyday life … I also love functional objects, so I like things people can use every day,” she said. “And to me, it’s the best of both worlds, because it’s like, okay, both mean a lot, and also femininity, like domestic labor, that kind of stuff, like what we’re told we should be making as women, that was really important to me (to include). And I think it’s nice to be able to, like, have that on an object and be thinking about that meaning.”
In his exhibition statement, Kidwell said he explores identity through familiar natural environments as part of his practice. Being raised in Kansas has “shaped (his) sense of space and attention,” noting that his work for “All That Remains” offers others “a moment of quiet attention with our inherited selves while connecting with our natural world.” Kidwell told The Bulletin he found it difficult as a child to “find interest in Kansas” and share the “Kansas love” he grew up around.
“And so this work has kind of been about me creating a presence for myself and thinking about how all these spaces have, you know, inherently been passed down, finding my own interest in something that is passed down,” Kidwell said.
But there is more than just individual meaning and importance found in the art displayed in Hickman and Kidwell’s senior show. For Hickman, there is also a display of growth in art through friendship exhibited in their work.
“I have grown with Michael and our art shows that. I feel very lucky that we were able to do a show together. … I’m grateful the process went as smooth as it did and couldn’t ask for a better show partner,” she said.
Kidwell shared similar sentiments of growth. It “meant the world” to put together a senior show with Hickman, he said.
“It was great so great to be able to do a two-person show with somebody who I, you know, really admire and have grown next to,” said Kidwell. “As well as somebody who has helped me grow and I feel I’ve helped her, support her, the best that I can … she’s one of my best friends, and it really meant the—it meant the world.”
“All That Remains” is showing in King Hall’s Eppink Art Gallery. It will run through April 24.
The Bulletin’s Adriana Peralta contributed reporting.
