Jane Lackey

Smear (3), 2000

acrylic, cork, birch, ink
44 1/2 x 45 x 4 in.
(detail)
Courtesy of Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago

There is an interesting correspondence between acquired memory and memory that is genetically encoded within the cells of our bodies. Both types of memory are pivotal to identity. Yet the distinction between the fixed and the mutable engages aspects of our beings that are invisible to the unaided eye yet are fully sensed and known in other measurable ways. The work samples overlapping cultural implications that are played out in a hybrid of painting and science. A longtime interest in cloths and textiles has led [me] to the study of codes of pattern. The science of DNA magnifies the significance of pattern as repeating sequences in our genetic makeup are used to identify or ìfingerprintî individuals. The question of probable identities is reduced to simple patterns, blots, smears and strings of letters. This intersection of disciplines brings me to a synthesis of bodily imprints, fluid fluorescing color, stripes, dots, plaids, accidents, anomalies. New materials, theories, and working methodologies challenge and rearrange how memory is embedded within form.