Haisi Hu, a native of China, works with narrative videos by using animated puppets, toys and mannequins. She creates sophisticated and flexible armatures for her characters and elaborate sets as backdrops for her stories. Haisi sculpted characters for her video, “On the Debris of Affluence” at The Barn, which is a story is about four people trapped inside a cathedral during a flood. Though based on the actions of figurines, the story captures the essence of the human condition by pairing an apocalyptic vision with enduring art historical detritus.

Wylie Sofia Garcia is interested in the aesthetics of beauty blending with the psychological on the surface of feminine domestic objects such as dresses, quilts, chairs, or beds. At The Barn, she worked on several textile-based objects that were included in her MFA thesis exhibition at the Massachusetts College of Art and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA. Wylie is the only resident in Seven Below history to elegantly endure the summertime mosquito epidemic while five months pregnant!

Meghan Gordon paints, sculpts and performs queries into the merits of the museum as an authoritative source. Meghan investigated the period room as a subject for her art while in residence and used the BCA Center for a performance about an invented period room of her design. She curated the temporary exhibition from locally borrowed furniture and other household objects, and gave public tours of the simulated period room dressed as a docent named Edith.

Matt Bollinger’s paintings and drawings depict fictional social groups who congregate at concerts, art collective performances or karaoke bars. At The Barn, Matt worked on several large paintings and began an experiment with shadow-puppetry animation. Matt wrote, filmed and performed in a short film based on the parallel characteristics of the classic vampire film Nosferatu and the life and fears of the painter Edvard Munch.

Lisa Iglesias plays with notions of scale and placement in her art by using intricate marks on a very large scale. She displays her work in a variety of places, such as walls, ceilings, ‘zines, and posters. Lisa worked on a series of cut paper wall pieces that fused Latin and Scandinavian folklore into an American celebration motif–the party banner. Lisa is a second generation New Yorker and is part of the art collaborative Las Hermanas Iglesias with her sister, Janelle.

Christine Gray paints hyper-detailed still lives from bizarre tableaus, giving a sense of distortion or parody to the everyday. The rural environment surrounding The Barn provided Christine with artistic fodder, including moss, twigs and feathers, which formed the foundation for a series of watercolors. Christine is currently an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Maria Pithara, a native of Cyprus, uses her art to explore the interconnectedness of the actions and peoples in the world around her. Her work combines both performance and the moving picture. At The Barn, Maria worked on several facets of a film project that included sewn props and script revisions. She spent many afternoons hiking for hours in the forest surrounding The Barn—experiences that deeply affected Maria’s later work.