Lyssa Palu-ay: Places Left Unfinished

August 18-October 31, 2011

4th Floory Gallery

Lyssa Palu-ay draws on traditions as disparate as the Celtic and Tibetan to discover in the landscape both a spiritual and literal geography. The photograph is akin to the mask in Mesoamerican tradition, which allowed the human to embody characteristics of the gods. These images reveal and conjure the layered forces and histories beneath the surface of the land we inhabit, whether Tibet, a remote corner of Maine, or South Boston. Beginning intuitively with the photograph, Palu-ay also uses drawing and video to expand her dialogue with the natural world.

Palu-ay is an associate professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, where she received her MFA. She earned a BA in political science from Boston College with additional coursework in the Faith, Peace and Justice Program. Palu-ay has exhibited widely across the country for the last decade.