School of Art Presents M.F.A Thesis Exhibition with Hannah McBroom: 'Give Up the Ghost'

Courtesy of Hannah McBroom

"Ghost"

The School of Art at the J.William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce a Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition with Hannah McBroom: 'Give Up the Ghost.'

The exhibition is at the Walker Stone House through April 6, located at 207 West Center Street in Fayetteville. The closing reception is at 5-8 p.m. tonight, Thursday, April 4. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

Give Up the Ghost is a series of six paintings representing gender trouble and ambiguity. The paintings are an introspective examination of McBroom's own experiences through a transgender lens. By visually picking apart the bodies that are represented, she examines the intersections of imagery and the medium.

McBroom's painting aims to break up the visual understanding of bodies, showing both paint and flesh as one and the same.

The exhibition visually articulates her own point of view using personal visual narratives to present the moments surrounding gender transformation. Through the use of various environments she explores how singular moments build on a formation of gender identity.

The artist describes the ghost in the paintings as unexamined experiences individuals encounter while living as a transgender person. McBroom's aim is to show the interconnections of these experiences within the social normative structure. Using paint, she traces the seemingly objective nature of bodies and spaces, expanding the imagery to show a deeper subjectivity in how these moments relate with one another.

"During my time at the School of Art I have explored themes of transgender identity, materiality, alienation and the body," said McBroom. "Classes on critical art and queer theory and female art history, helped open me up to the possibilities for what representation in the art world and my own work could be."

Upon graduation McBroom is planning to attend multiple artist in residency programs and will be opening a studio in Kansas City, Missouri to continue her studio practice. She currently has work installed at 21c Museum Hotel in Bentonville and in September she have a solo show at the Bunker Center for the Arts in Kansas City.