Virginia L. Montgomery (VLM) approaches storytelling, activism, and scientific exploration in a remarkably idiosyncratic fashion in her current solo exhibit “Eye Moon Cocoon” at Women & Their Work.
A widely shown artist, holding a BFA from UT Austin and an MFA in sculpture from Yale, VLM’s work often takes a dreamy and symbolic approach in its presentation of complex topics. She cites the book When Species Meet by Donna Haraway as a major inspiration for this latest show, as the researcher’s writing illuminated the ideas of ecofeminism and panpsychism (a philosophy attributing consciousness to all things, both animated and inanimate). This connected way of thinking manifests itself wonderfully in the show, which by example encourages thoughtfulness and loving treatment towards every creature and every thing.
To set the scene, the stimulus that sets the exhibition in motion is a favor she carries out for a native Texan insect. “I was inspired by this random thought I had about how ironic it was that a creature like the luna moth, which is devoted to the moon, can never actually get in proximity to the moon,” VLM explains in a video essay. “I was just thinking okay, if I’m going to make this poetic, performative proposal of how I can help mediate the distance between a luna moth and the moon, how would I do that?”
The answer to this question lies in the entrance room of the gallery. As VLM couldn’t quite take a luna moth cocoon to space, she instead found the solution in her hometown of Houston. A black-and-white video captures this experience, showing the artist waving a cocoon in a slow, entrancing manner at a moon rock display at NASA.
Through her work, Virginia L. Montgomery posits that a small act of goodwill towards nature is more than a drop in the ocean.
A central video, titled Moon Moth Bed, combines each of the project’s motifs to portray a story on life cycles. VLM explores both destruction and harmony, ending on a note of hopefulness. An enigmatic soundscape accompanies the projections, using samples from field recordings she’s collected of natural storms, instruments, and other noises she encountered. Through an unusual merging of all these sounds, she creates a mysterious and emotive accompaniment to the various projections and objects in the room.
Servicing her storytelling is her investigation of the Butterfly Effect, the philosophical theory that small occurrences impact larger complex systems, and the Coriolis Effect, a scientific process in which particles of mass swirl in circular formations. These theories are addressed through physical explorations in the videos and help her make the statement that one action can result in environmental healing.
Through her work, VLM posits that a small act of goodwill towards nature is more than a drop in the ocean. From this fresh approach to promoting eco-consciousness, we’re left with some much-needed optimism, and a case for the pursuit of trying.
Virginia L. Montgomery: “Eye Moon Cocoon”
Women & Their Work, 1311 E Cesar Chavezwww.womenandtheirwork.org
Through Nov. 30
This article appears in November 24 • 2023.