Bella Bailey

About the Artist

Bella Bailey is a transdisciplinary artist from Akron, Ohio, where she studied painting and metal smithing at the University of Akron before moving to Baltimore, MD to pursue her MFA at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her work displays found objects and nested systems as a way of reckoning with the cyclical and emergent behavior of the universe. She orchestrates specific circumstances that return information, which then become base components in another specific circumstance, mirroring emergent behavior and giving a visual language to the forces of nature. Some examples of these emergent techniques include applying heat to thermal paper to create micropatterned cell substrates, mixing highly saturated chemical fluids on wood or paper to crystallize, and displacing soil to produce unique microecologies. When combined with the found object, she analyzes human behavior through its peripheral and ecological residue.  

Artist's Statement

Artist Statement The work both responds to and displays nested systems as a way of reckoning with the cyclical and emergent behavior of the universe. I orchestrate a specific circumstance that returns information, which will then become a base component in another specific circumstance, mirroring emergent behavior and giving a visual language to the forces of nature. Some examples of these emergent techniques include applying hot metal surfaces to thermal paper to create micropatterned cell substrates, mixing highly saturated chemical fluids on wood or paper to crystallize, and displacing soil to produce unique microecologies. These processes are infinitely generative, yet unstable, as they are destined to decay without sufficient preservation. I view these moments as mediators between the geologic timescale and the futility of the built world. These elements, alongside found objects, analyze human behavior through its peripheral residue.  Ecological and geologic phenomena subjected to human interference function as a diachronic analysis of the anthropocene, emphasizing class disparities and ecological entanglement. I view found objects as stand-ins for humans, as they carry histories of labor, play, and alienation, amongst the fringes of the built world. I view containers, such as the aspect ratio, terrariums, vessels, and frames, as archival tools and reliquaries. Humanity began utilizing the vessel to control time and space, from the Cretan vessels designed to separate the elements, to the Wardian box. By containing, we prolong the lifespan of its contents and signify importance. I seek to question what is worthy of archiving through the work. I work with materials that change over time, and spend my most intentional moments determining what will be preserved. By containing found objects and natural phenomena, I elevate the residue of humanity from the ground to the gallery wall, memorializing people and critically examining the contemporary landscape.