Please join us for the closing reception and artist talk for Fruiting Bodies, a solo exhibition by Amy Reid. In addition to speaking about her work, Amy will generate live plant sounds through the process of bio-sonification! This event takes place outdoors on Howard Street, in front of Current Space.

Closing Reception: Sunday, May 30th, 8:30-10pm, bio-sonification and artist talk: 9pm
Exhibition Duration: April 24th - May 30th
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Fruiting Bodies is part of series of an ongoing investigation titled Unearthing Queer Ecologies. The title references the term Queer Ecology which scholar Catriona Sandilands describes as “recognizing that people often regard nature in terms of dualistic notions like “natural and unnatural,” “alive or not alive” or “human or not human,” when in reality, nature exists in a continuous state.” This project pays homage to this idea by sonically and visually revealing the growth and life of plants that have been deemed “queer” by culture and organisms that are “queer” in the very nature of their DNA such as; lavender, pansies and various mushroom species.

Technology is often perceived as creating a disconnect with nature as well as disengaging society from the present moment. This project uses bio-sonification, an innovative process in generating sound, as a way of using technology to physically and creatively connect with “non-human” organisms. This process can be achieved through the use of electrodes and the hardware, Plantwave, which picks up subtle fluctuations on the surface of these organisms as they grow. Through the use of an interface or DAW, these fluctuations are then translated into MIDI which provides information that can be sent into analogue and digital synthesizers thus producing sounds.

The sounds and audio-responsive visuals celebrate the histories that lie beneath a culture with a rich history that has often been overlooked and regarded as unnatural. Fruiting Bodies challenges this notion and blurs the lines between natural and synthetic realms by interpreting information through video projection, sound, growing organisms, and sculpture.

This project is supported by a Rubys Grant from the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation.
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Amy Reid
Reid has studied Painting and Art Education obtaining a BFA and MAT from Maryland Institute College of Art where she began playing in bands and often incorporating original soundtracks into her visual works of art. Inspired by her experiences as a musician, visual and community artist, her lifelong goal is to explore the environments in which all three worlds intersect. Inspired by her experiences as a queer electronic musician, producer, sound and visual artist, she strives to transform spaces visually, sonically and socially. Her work explores the intersection of the natural, human-made world, and the liminal spaces of existence through the use of field recordings, vocals, electronic instruments, video and generative sound processes. Electronic music translates the intangible and complex space of identity and connectivity to
environments into a reciprocal sonic experience for the listener. Through finding fluid connections between human and non-human organisms, she is dedicated to destroying the idea that queerness is “unnatural” on both an ecological and cultural level. These connections are fuel for imagining new possibilities of existence where differences are regarded as imperative to maintaining a biodiverse environment.
She has participated in residencies at SPACE Gallery (Portland, ME), The Merriweather District Air (Columbia, MD), and, MICA (Baltimore, MD). In 2009 she received a Katzenberger fellowship at The National Portrait Gallery (Washington, D.C), and in 2020 was awarded a Rubys Grant from the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation.

In addition to her music practice, she formed Baltimore’s GRL PWR Collective in 2014 whose mission is to create platforms for women and LGBTQ identifying people, elevating visibility for under-represented artists and talent. GRL PWR has morphed into a duo, futurist pop icon Pangelica and Reid. They were awarded the Grit Fund for the 2019-2020 grant cycle, curated a panel discussion for the Red Bull Amaphiko Festival, and toured nationally in 2018. Their last event SWEAT, an inclusive drag show, featured Nina Bo’Nina Brown, an international drag queen appearing on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
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Current Space is an artist-run gallery, studio, and outdoor performance space, nourishing an ongoing dialogue between artists, activists, performers, designers, curators, and thinkers. Operating since November 2004, we are committed to showcasing, developing, and broadening the reach of artists locally and internationally.

Current Space is funded by members and supporters like you; and the Creative Baltimore Fund, a program funded by Mayor Brandon Scott and the Baltimore Office of Promotion and The Arts.