mary ann caffery
bird feathers
Aug 1 - 24, 2025
FIRST WEDNESDAY OPENING: Aug 6, FROM 6 - 9PM
ARTICULATE ARTIST TALK: SUNDAY, Aug 10, AT 4PM.
NORMAL GALLERY HOURS: TUE - SUN, 12PM - 6PM
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Mary Ann Caffery has been working in the realms of photography and digital composites for a number of years. Originally trained in the fields of stained glass and painting, her love of light and color is the guiding forces that drive her interest in her current series of images that focus on aquatic birds local to our area. She travels out, just before sunrise, into the waterways to capture these animals in that liminal space between night and day, when things are just starting to wake up. For her, the work is meditative and almost spiritual. These moments give her time to pause and reflect on the beauty of nature. The metaphor of leaving the dark and stepping into light carries a heavy meaning for the artist, as she reflects on her experience moving from a time of unknowns, and the early years of the pandemic, and into a more positive and hopeful place.
“I have always been intrigued by that which I cannot see or understand. I photograph in the swamps, forests, cemeteries, rookeries, and prairies of south Louisiana, and I visualize what goes on in these places when I am not present...when these places come alive with mystery, with joy, with danger. My imagination sees unlikely scenarios filled with solitude, sometimes eerie quiet, sometimes ghosts of past inhabitants. I wonder what lurks within, what has come before.
I approach my photography with this vision in mind. I photograph birds, swamp animals, and sometimes inanimate objects that often have nothing to do with the landscapes I place them in --tchotchkes--unlikely inhabitants--attendees to gatherings in unassuming places. Sometimes there is only one bird in my gathering, sometimes birds and objects. All are welcome who have the vision. All are present for a reason, whether it be known to me or not. I imagine inanimate objects that have human characteristics and qualities... things that come alive in the shadows.
Because birds appear in most of my work, some of my photographs are portraits of Louisiana birds in their habitats, sometimes they are isolated from the habitats to simply portray the essence of their being. Sometimes these portraits are the end products of my photography, and sometimes I place these birds in scenes or gatherings with other objects because they are such magnificent creatures, as well as descendants of dinosaurs, creating direct links to the past and things that have been, as well as links to the heavens when they soar up into the sky.
I cannot tell others what is going on in these portraits and gatherings, but I like to imagine my own stories as to what is happening. My hope is that viewers bring their own life experiences to interpret meanings of their own. This guides me back to the belief that there is an interconnection in the universe, often not understood, but definitely interrelated, to the privilege of getting to walk this earth and experience its beauty and mystery.
This exhibition is presented alongside the latest works from Jessica Sharpe, Michaelene Walsh, & Beth Welch. All works from these artists are on view, free of charge, during regular gallery hours (12 - 6 p.m., Tue - Sun) from Aug 1 - 24, 2025.