School of Visual Arts presents “Recalled,” an exhibition of thesis work by the Master of Professional Studies in Digital Photography class of 2021. Curated by New York City gallerist and SVA faculty member Debra Klomp Ching.

MPS Digital Photography Chair Tom P. Ashe explains, “Recalled is the result of a challenging year being met by five hard working artists. In their thesis projects these artists are inspired by or bravely wrestling with the past. We are fortunate this year to see the results in person.”

Exhibition curator Debra Klomp Ching expands, “Each of the photographers present artworks that are directly informed by their own lived experiences. In light of the current pandemic, the projects also allow the viewer to re-assess these spaces—both physically and psychologically—and perhaps to appreciate our human dynamics, the places we occupy and our internal mindsets somewhat differently.”

With his project “Portals to Posts: Greenwich Village Townhouses” Guy Dauerty explores the fragile beauty of doorways and ironwork of historic townhouses, within a three-block radius of his home. Although much of this New York City neighborhood is landmarked, it is not spared efforts to raze its old buildings for development. He hopes that his efforts will help with the continuing struggle to preserve the rich history of Greenwich Village.

“Loose Threads” is a mixed-media project by Danielle LaRose that investigates the complex links between childhood, memory and identity. Using textile printing, embroidery, family imagery and self-portraiture, the series explores the fraying connections between the past and present, as well as the mental and corporeal. In doing so, it attempts to examine how our memories fit into the composition of our current selves.

Installation artist and photographer Sao Tanaka is presenting her stop-motion animation “Discordance,” which has been structured by gathering fragments of information about her former friend. The animation shows glimpses of the friend’s life from when she was a teenager to her later marriage and motherhood. This is a fictionalized story, in that it can be said that how we come to know others is often a process of our own fictional creation, based on the shallow information we have.

Shuqian Wang’s “Teahouses of Chengdu” is a documentary series that focuses on Chinese tea culture, examining both traditional Chinese teahouses, as well as more modern versions of them. Inspired by memories of drinking tea with her grandfather, she hopes to show that the tradition of drinking tea in China is less about the actual tea and more about spending mindful time with friends and family.

“Afterschool” is a photographic project focusing on school bullying, where Zihan Zhuang attempts to represent the mental state of the bullying victims, the bystanders and the bullies, using a single model and compositing. By combining his own experiences of bullying with a psychoanalytic and sociological approach, he intends to represent a nuanced perspective of bullying for those who struggle with it.

“Recalled” also includes selected thesis prints by the MPS Digital Photography class of 2020, which did not get to be shown in person last year. The members of the class of 2020 are Apeksha Agarwal, Yiran Chen, Elfa Frið, Alvaro Keding, David Luo, Congying Miao, M.J. O’Toole, RaeAnn Serra, Catherine Sharp, Ruoheng Shen, Hannah Stampleman, Phuong Vo, Natcha Wongchanglaw, Dylan Xie, Binge Yan, Cassie Zhang and Judi Zhang.

The SVA Gramercy Gallery is open Monday through Friday, from 10:00am to 6:00pm, and closed on Saturdays and Sundays. In accordance with SVA COVID-19 protocols, in-person viewing is restricted to SVA students, faculty and staff.