EXPEDITION EARTH
Meghan Goparaju
On view | Dec. 16, 2024 – Feb. 14, 2025
Reception | Jan. 27 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM
I look down at the palm of my hand. A mesh of veins running in and through flesh; a formulation of pink, blue and beige. I open and close my fingers, each intricately structured by tendon and bone. And I can’t help but wonder how something so complex is held together by something so delicate as paper-thin skin. I look beyond, to the earth all around. To the mountains, the ocean, the clouds, rivers and valleys. I peer deep into the forest, observing the trees reaching out to the sky, as if for guidance, the vibrant moss blanketing the forest floor like carpet, the squishy, lush soil harboring webs upon webs of interconnected mycelial networks. That out there– that’s us. We are not here and nature there; we precisely are the phenomenon we call nature; we are the very earth that we stand upon. I look back down at my hand, this fleshy, veiny thing. calloused and rigid, yet tender and gentle. I see in it the earth and all it encompasses. And when you’re met with such a sweet synchronicity, how could you not be overcome with pure awe? -Meghan Goparaju
ABOUT THE ARTIST Meghan Goparaju is an artist from Long Island, NY, a beautiful little island where she grew up. She graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in psychology, but it was the development of her art practice that allowed her to understand the world through raw experience. While drawn to the serenity of the seascapes found across her home island, the inspiration for her work stems from travels around the world, with a significant influence coming from the region of Scandinavia. Her work is deeply connected to the earth, reflecting on the enormity and uniqueness of the landscapes she has encountered. These landscapes carry stories and memories—of the land, the wildlife, humanity, and all that came before. Meghan works in a variety of media, including oil and acrylic paint, photography, and printmaking, focusing primarily on drypoint and lithography.
Gallery @ Contour Mortgage located at 99 North Ocean Ave., Patchogue. on view during business hours.