“The theme of ‘In the Dark’ is kind of an extension of something I’ve been exploring in my own work,” says Yang. The artist, whose mother passed away in 2020 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, was her caretaker for many years. “I got caught up in trying to be strong for so long. But lately, I’ve been having dreams that are getting more and more bizarre, so this show began as a way for me to feel my way through the darkness of discovering my new identity after a difficult period in my life,” says Yang.

She is not only the curator of the exhibition but is also one of the featured artists. Four of her pieces will be on display including “Chrysalis,” which is meant to serve as a symbolic reflection of her current transformation, she says. “My work in the show is all about finding your way through the darkness and the little processes that can happen within.”

Yang also put out a call to Central and South Florida artists who work in all mediums, including video, performance, and music to submit their work selecting 23 from the submissions.

 “There are all these different things that one can do in the dark, so I invited other artists to explore whatever subjects they wanted to relate to the darkness that they’ve experienced or observed,” she says.

One of the artists featured, Karla Del Valle, has been painting for a little over a year and has found art to be a therapeutic way for her to process the darkness she sees at her job as a crime scene investigator while also paying homage to her Mexican upbringing.

 “I come from Mexico, which is a very traditional Catholic country where we were taught since we were little to be afraid of the dark. But for whatever reason, I never felt afraid of the dark which is why I always knew I wanted to become a crime scene investigator,” says Del Valle.

The Pembroke Pines-based artist who has worked as a crime scene investigator for 17 years was also drawn to art growing up, but it wasn’t until her husband gifted her a package of five art classes that she fell in love with painting. It was during that time that she painted her piece that is on display at the “In the Dark” exhibition entitled “The Séance.”

“I had a challenging case at work that made the international news because it was very gruesome. So, I wanted to paint a family portrait because they are my home and my guiding light in the darkness. That’s why I depicted them holding a candle in a dark room at a séance table with three tarot cards. The Lovers represent my husband and me, Justice because the outcome of that case was excellent, and The High Priestess which I felt represented my daughter and how I want her to lean into her intuition and feminine power,” says Del Valle.

As for Fort Lauderdale-based artist Gary Rodriguez, his take on the exhibition’s theme differs from his fellow artists. In his paintings and illustrations, typically created using watercolor, Rodriguez highlights his appreciation for science and nature by using strange and exotic animals as his subjects. 

“I love wildlife and science, so I think one of the best things I can utilize art for is to inform people and have them learn something new. So, when it comes to the theme of this exhibition, I thought about literal darkness but, more specifically, the dark depths of the ocean,” he says. 

Rodriguez is in the process of creating two pieces for the exhibit working with acrylics for the first time while focusing on two deep sea creatures – the bigfin squid which is characterized by its string-like tentacles reaching up to 26 feet in length and the humpback angler fish known for rows of sharp teeth and a bioluminescent appendage dangling from its head.

“We have all these remarkable creatures like these two in the deep depths of the ocean which is why people should be a lot more mindful of the decisions that they make towards providing better stewardship for the environment because these creatures might not be around for future generations to admire,” says Rodriguez.

While Rodriguez hopes to encourage a conversation about environmental appreciation and conservation, artist and Broward College professor Niko Yulis emphasizes the importance of narrative and storytelling in his work, which includes ceramics, drawing, and painting. 

“A lot of my work is narrative-based, and I’m very inspired by storytelling. That’s what I like about stories is that they develop over time as you read them, which is what I aspire to do with my art,” says Yulis. In the two pieces he’s created for the exhibition, there’s a layered narrative that encompasses the overall theme of darkness.

One piece, entitled “The Art of the Deal,” has multiple meanings hidden throughout, including a nod to the myth that blues musician Robert Johnson met the devil at a crossroads, and in exchange for his soul, was given the mastery of the guitar. Yulis also pokes fun at another prominent figure, which is hinted at in the title.

“It’s meant to be a little poke-and-jab at Donald Trump because I named the piece with his book in mind, and then I thought, is Donald Trump someone who could make a deal with the devil? Probably,” he says. 

These artistic creations, along with many more by the other 20 featured artists, will be on display at the 1310 Gallery in Fort Lauderdale starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25, at the “In the Dark” opening reception.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “In the Dark” Exhibition

WHERE: 1310 Gallery at Sailboat Bend Artist Lofts, 1310 SW 2nd Court, Fort Lauderdale

WHEN: Exhibition hours are 9:30?a.m. to 4?p.m., Monday through Friday. Through Nov. 14. Closing reception, 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 15.

COST: Free

INFORMATION: (954) 399-2737 or sailboatbendartists.com

This story was produced by Broward Arts Journalism Alliance (BAJA), an independent journalism program of the Broward County Cultural Division. Visit artscalendar.com for more stories about the arts in South Florida.

The post “In the Dark” Exhibition Showcases Artists’ Interpretation of Darkness appeared first on Lifestyle Media Group.

But, for the first time, he’s taken on a new creative endeavor that challenged him to dive deeper into those themes in his first solo art exhibition, “An Island in the Shape of a Prison” at the Pompano Beach Cultural Center, which runs through Saturday, Oct. 19.

Torres, a new grant administrator for the Broward County Cultural Division, previously applied for one of the division’s artist grants to create a performance art piece. 

He says he applied for the Artist Innovation Grant two years ago for a beachside poetry performance presented with an opera singer, a percussionist, and another poet.

He points out that this was prior to him starting his position at the Broward County Cultural Division. He says that the grant was such an “awesome experience,” he decided to apply for another grant, the Artist Support Grant, that can fund up to $5,000 for a project.

“I looked at it as an opportunity to fund my first attempt at visual art,” says Torres.

“An Island” showcases artwork using mixed media, photographs, video, and a poem written by Torres, which is broken up into sections throughout the exhibit. Themes are reflections of his serving as a soldier at the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq while also tackling the idea of self-exploration, in addition to insights into his Puerto Rican heritage that he has explored in other art mediums.

“I write a lot of poetry, and I’m in a theater company called the Combat Hippies, which is an ensemble of Puerto Rican military veteran performing artists. So, I feel like I’ve been kind of using those mediums to tell different stories, including my experience in Iraq in 2004, for some time now,” says Torres. 

When it came to creating pieces for his exhibition, a major theme he endeavored to explore was his Puerto Rican heritage and how that is intrinsically connected to his time serving in the military, he explains.

One of the first pieces that viewers see when walking through the gallery space is entitled “Honor et Fidelitas,” which is a combination of mixed media and found objects on a painting. The artwork was made by altering a replication of “The Borinqueneers,” painted by artist Dominic D’Andrea in 1992 for the National Guard Heritage Foundation. The original painting depicts the U.S. 65th Infantry Regiment, who were an all-Puerto Rican military unit, during a bayonet charge against a Chinese division during the Korean War.

Torres chose to include his interpretation of the piece as a nod to the long history of Puerto Rican soldiers serving under U.S. direction, as well as his own military background. 

“Puerto Rico has an interesting relationship with the United States, living under the U.S. as one of its colonies and fighting in its wars historically. But also, for me personally, my dad was in the Army National Guard in New York in the 80s. So, as a child, he spoke fondly of those few years he served, which had a major influence on me,” says Torres.

At 19, Torres enlisted in the Army and was sent overseas to Iraq at the height of the war. During his deployment, he served as a therapist at the Abu Ghraib Prison, providing therapy to both Iraqi detainees as well as deployed troops, a contradiction which he struggled with daily, he recalls. 

“I found myself in Iraq dealing with some inner turmoil and conflict because I was in this difficult position of helping our troops with their mental health while also helping prisoners who we looked at as the ‘enemy.’”

His job, he says, was about practicing empathy and talking to and getting to know the very people the Army was fighting against.

“That’s why I wanted to experiment with telling the totality of that experience and experiment with doing it visually in this exhibition,” he says.

Unbeknownst to Torres at the time, many military officials and soldiers were at the center of serious abuse, torture, and human rights violations at Abu Ghraib Prison, which Torres addresses in his piece entitled “I Love Me-Ataque De Nervios.”

It is a collage of Torres’ personal effects, awards, and mementoes from his time serving as well as newspaper clippings about the atrocities happening during that time. It serves as a haunting reminder of the stark differences experienced by Torres and others at Abu Ghraib Prison.

It also was during this time working in what he refers to as a “combat stress officer,” however, that Torres was not only tasked with providing therapy to soldiers but also responding to devastating mental health emergencies, including two attempted overdoses and a suicide.

By the time Torres left the military, he says he was suffering from mental distress and was prescribed an “overwhelming” number of medications.

It was with these prescription bottles collected by Torres over the years that create the central piece in the exhibition. He glued his numerous pill bottles, prescribed to him from 2019 to 2024, to a plywood board in the shape of the island of Puerto Rico.

His intention was to represent the mental and emotional impact he experienced while deployed to Iraq but also the impact of colonization on Puerto Rico since becoming a U.S. colony in 1898, he explains.

“It’s often promoted in the military this sense of ‘we’re going to tear you down to build you back up,’ which is necessary in order to do the work that’s required in the military. But what gets torn down is the sense of self-individuality, and because of this, there’s a deep sense of loss for a part of your identity that never returns,” he reveals.

Today, Torres is free from medications and instead hopes to use this piece as well as the others in the exhibition to spark a conversation among people who come to see it about the stark realities surrounding military service.

“Creating this exhibition was a true test in vulnerability and I believe vulnerability is a strength. As a man and also as a veteran, I was trying to put myself out there in a way that I hope inspires other people,” he says.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “An Island in The Shape of a Prison” by Anthony Torres

WHERE: Pompano Beach Cultural Center, 50 Atlantic Blvd., Pompano Beach

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Friday. Through Saturday, Oct. 19.

COST: Free

INFORMATION: 954.545.7800 or pompanobeacharts.org

This story was produced by Broward Arts Journalism Alliance (BAJA), an independent journalism program of the Broward County Cultural Division. Visit ArtsCalendar.com for more stories about the arts in South Florida.

The post ‘Island in the Shape of a Prison’ Explores the Psychological Repercussions of War appeared first on Lifestyle Media Group.