This reflection is also available as a zine.

I stopped by [Re]collections & Earthly Artifacts by Melissa Borman at Rosalux to spend some time with this multi-media exhibition  (on view through April 30, 2023 at 315 West 48th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55419).

a latch hook circle with a rose pattern hanging on the wall

Melissa Borman, “Rose,” 2023, latch hook rug, 20″ diameter x 1.25″ deep

While this exhibition had a clear foundation in photography, I enjoyed the many multimedia pieces, such as this latch hook rug. Like many of the works in this exhibition, Rose projects a sense of nostalgia and memory (I especially felt this in Sanctuary too).  Rose also highlights the technical creation of images, and its own latch hook directions are featured in the artist book that accompanies this exhibition. I noticed this emphasis on visual components across multiple works, whether in terms of the enlarged half-tones in Memorial, or in this case, individual pieces of yarn brought together to create a visual whole.

a detail image of a half-tone dove flying in the sky

Melissa Borman, “Memorial,” 2022, archival pigment print with custom frame, 18″x44″

Multiple works connect to ideas of shifting and change. In Troubled Waters, a beautiful grid of images of ocean waves churning, we see the actual tumult of nature, and right next to it, in My Father was a Flower Garden, Borman’s father is featured in a lenticular print that shifts from his military portrait to tropical flowers. As she shares in the exhibition statement, he was a closeted gay man, and this piece seems a beautiful tribute to that challenge.

a military portrait of a man with the name Borman and some flowers on the right

Melissa Borman, “My Father Was a Flower Garden,” 2023, lenticular print, 32.75″x24″

I also enjoyed the collaborative work between Borman and Julie Reneé Benda, The White Cat. This piece features Borman’s photograph of a white cat sculpture in a green field and Benda’s short written reflection about the image, which closes with, “…to remind me that love is the gift of being seen.” It feels like many works in this exhibition hold that same sentiment, especially the small box of snap shots that accompanies The Journal of a Sea Animal Living on Land.

a photo of a ceramic cat in the grass and a short story printed next to it

Melissa Borman and Julie Reneé Benda, “The White Cat,” 2023, archival pigment prints, 17″x25.5″

Also on view is a striking artist book with the same title as the exhibition. It features and essay by Sheila Dickinson, and was carefully crafted with several translucent inserts that mimic the qualities of a lenticular print. The reproductions are excellent and the book includes all the works in the exhibition. I highly recommend stopping by gallery hours when you can leisurely spend time with this text and the rest of the work.

an artist book held open by a hand featuring imagery of waves and leaves

Melissa Borman, “[Re]collections & Earthly Artifacts,” 2023, artist book

Disclosure: Melissa Borman and I are both members of Title Collective.