The Overwhelming ~ A Must See

If you saw Ruined (which travelled to NYC) and liked it, The Overwhelming presented by The Next Theater Company is a MUST. They just extended the show until May 30.

"With his tenure at risk, Professor Jack Exley uproots his family from Illinois to Rwanda on the eve of the genocide to interview a mysterious doctor about his AIDS treatment program. When the doctor vanishes without a trace, the family finds itself lost in sea of changing stories and shifting alliances. A hit in London in 2006 and off-Broadway in 2007, The Overwhelming is a potent, gripping drama about the challenges facing a progressive American in a foreign country on the brink of disaster."

It raised so many questions, thoughts and discussion. One of the better plays I have seen this year. So happy they extended it.

This is a two for one because opening tomorrow at the Noyes Cultural Art Center is the work of Chicago photographer, Ursula Sololowska. I have admired her work from afar and it was great to see it up close and personal.

Ursula Sokolowska, Untitled No. 32 ©2006

Ursula Sokolowska's Artist statement

"This work examines the trauma and uncertainty carried from childhood. In particular, I am referencing my own upbringing as a Polish immigrant. There is an undercurrent of helplessness and misdirection linked to a sort of schizophrenic parenting, excommunication, and constant movement. Typically, the perception of children handed down by my elders was that children did not have a choice. Frequently, I heard a Polish equivalent of the phrase “Children should be seen not heard”. I am attempting to give these children voices.

These photographs are projection-based installations. The models are mannequins and their faces are projections. The faces of the children are slides that my father took of me when he was still involved in my life. The other slides are present day images that I have shot of my mom, my dad, and myself. My goal is to reconstruct my own childhood, empowering the past for better or for worse. The result is a troubling recreation of events that may seem disturbing but are far less in context to the real events that transpired."

Ursula Sokolowska Untitled No. 65©2006