eye lounge is pleased to present Sparkle Baby’s Slumber Party, an exhibition of new interdisciplinary work by Samantha Lyn Aasen.
Slumber parties are a benchmark of adolescence. For young girls they provide a time to share secrets away from the watchful eyes of parents, teachers and peers. It gives them an opportunity to invite a friend into a safe place to create intimate moments that deepen a friendship. At the end of a slumber party bonds are forged in the privacy of bedrooms or they end in a tearful call asking a mom to pick someone up because truth or dare became too honest. Games, pizza, movies, makeovers, prank phone calls, and staying up as late as possible are all present during the slumber party.
Samantha Lyn Aasen presents new work in Sparkle Baby’s Slumber Party. In the collection of videos and photographs she revisits many of her memories growing up in the Indianapolis suburbs attending slumber parties for her friends and classmates. Sparkle Baby’s Slumber Party touches on themes of teen female friendships, power dynamics, and the sense of wanting to belong. Two fictional characters are presented, Sparkle Baby who has been an ongoing presence in Aasen’s past work, and Sugar Baby a new friend to Sparkle Baby.
The exhibition will run from November 17 through December 10, 2017. The artist will host on opening reception on Friday, Nov 17th from 6 – 10 pm and be in the gallery for First Friday on Dec 1st, 2017, during regular eye lounge hours and by appointment.
Eye Lounge Gallery is located at 419 E Roosevelt Street in Phoenix. The gallery is open Fridays from 6 -10 pm, Saturdays 1-5pm, Sundays from 11am-3pm, and during MADE gift shop hours.
For more information contact: Samantha Lyn Aasen
samaasen@gmail.com
Sparkle Baby’s Slumber Party
November 17th to December 10th
Opening Reception Friday, November 17th 6-10pm
Samantha Lyn Aasen is an artist adapting to the southwest, as she holds on to her Midwestern mentalities. As a child she had dreams of becoming a writer, as she was an avid read and creator of an active blog at the age of 12. A car accident left her with a traumatic brain injury when she was fourteen. This led her to take creative arts classes, which she found helped her communicate her ideas and thoughts in visual representations.
Her suburban upbringing has her questioning female relationships and societal standards. Samantha identifies herself as a feminist artist. She uses her art as an exploration of her ambivalence of pop culture and desire to protect young girls from facing negative attitudes about themselves or from others.
Often she uses lens based media to form her artwork. Her ongoing body, titled Sparkle Baby, is constructed with photographs and video, using herself as the subject of the imagery she creates. Samantha also works in embroidery, beading, performance, web processes, and found objects. The idea or intent of the work drives the outcome of material.
Samantha Lyn Aasen has had exhibitions in Indiana, Arizona, Illinois, Nebraska, Maryland, and recently the UK. She holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Art in Photography from Herron School of Art and Design at Indiana University and a Studio Art MFA with an emphasis in Intermedia from Arizona State University. Currently she teaches at the Maricopa Community Colleges, and volunteers with Girls Rock! Phoenix.