W&L’s Staniar Gallery Presents ‘Cumberland Island: Land, Water, Wind, and Light’ The artists will give a public presentation, followed by a reception, on Jan. 28 at 5:30 p.m. in Wilson Hall’s Concert Hall.

By Erica Turman
January 6, 2020

Washington and Lee University’s Staniar Gallery presents “Cumberland Island: Land, Water, Wind, and Light,” a collaborative project featuring photographs, drawings and sound art that will be on display Jan. 9 – Feb. 7.

The project by artists Christa Bowden, Emily Gómez and Ernesto Gómez documents Cumberland Island, a barrier island about the size of Manhattan located off the coast of Georgia. The artists will give a public presentation, followed by a reception, on Jan. 28 at 5:30 p.m. in Wilson Hall’s Concert Hall.

Cumberland Island, one of seven Atlantic Coast national seashores and a part of the national park system, is comprised of three distinct ecosystems within its small geographical area: marsh, maritime, forest and beach. In 2016, during the national park system centennial, the artists began a collaborative multimedia project to document the unique biome of Cumberland Island.

In their project statement, they express their hope “to expand the existing photographic documentation of Cumberland Island to increase awareness of its significance and fragility, as well as to provide a record for future generations, should the island be irrevocably altered due to climate change.”

All three artists are professors of art. Bowden teaches at Washington and Lee University, where she established the photography program in 2006. The Gómezes’ are on the faculty of Georgia College, where Emily Gómez teaches darkroom, digital and alternative process photography and is a professor of art. Ernesto is a lecturer of art and a gallery and woodshop technician.

Staniar Gallery is located on the second floor of Wilson Hall, in W&L’s Lenfest Center for the Arts. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please call 540-458-8861.