Out of 2023 Pacific Northwest Drawers: Wash Myself Clean

The month of February is a month of cleansing. A month to wash one’s past trauma away and begin anew. The word February originates from a Roman festival called “Februa” in which the Roman people were ritually washed and purified. In celebration of the new month, these prints chronicle the transcendence of cleansing oneself and the cost of intimacy to once more wash away the issues of the past.

Spanning a wide array of techniques, subject matter, and style, these artists explore what it means to cleanse oneself, whether that be by water, by fire, by thought, or by reflection. Finding oneself in the midst of chaos is not a task for the faint of heart, however through a shared photographic language these Pacific Northwest Artists find a common theme of identity to unite all in reimagining what it means to be purified.

Featuring work by

Alexis Joy Hagestad, Michael Rainey, Christopher Valentine, Brittney Cathey-Adams, Mike Vos, Rachel Nixon, Albert England, Lawrence E Manning, Lawrence E Manning, Danielle Quenell, Claire Dibble, Kristina Barker, Cara Jaye, Laura Kurtenbach + Brain McGloin, and Vanessa Marsh.

This exhibition is curated by volunteer Kassandra Eller.