![For artist Ben Edwards, the exhibition “Possessions” has been a “personal journey of finding evidence in my past that I can go back and can pinpoint and begin to understand where it began. To sort of understand not only why I’m doing [what I do], but maybe what’s going to be important going forward to bring into my works of art.”](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2017/01/20/125759240_Ben-Edwards_t800.jpg?90232451fbcadccc64a17de7521d859a8f88077d)
When Ben Edwards walked into his children's bedroom a couple years ago to find stuffed animals nailed to the wall because "they were having court," he surely couldn't have known this funny-but-trying-not-to-laugh parenting moment would set him on the course to creating his most personal artwork yet.
"Living with four children is ... you're constantly getting these kinds of moments, and it certainly does change the way you live your life on a day to day. Some days there's humor, and some days its not funny at all, and it really can weigh you down and in a lot of ways," he says. "Possessions" is Edwards' three-piece exhibition on display at the Arts Center of the Ozarks in Springdale that speaks to the physical, but also intangible, things that weigh us down.
FAQ
‘Possessions’
WHEN — On display through Feb. 8; artist reception 6 p.m. Thursday
WHERE — Arts Center of the Ozarks, Springdale
COST — Free. Art available for sale.
INFORMATION — 751-5441, acozarks.org
"There have been throughout my life, many thoughts, ideas, people, things, objects that have sort of possessed my energy, or possessed my time, or just my brain space," he continues. "So this exhibition also deals with ... wrangling with my own abilities."
Edwards' first solo exhibition, the three works -- "The Day Lounge," "Dispossession" and "Understanding What They Want" -- are made up entirely of objects found in Edwards' own home brought together through the process of purging everything that held no further use for his family. Those works are each made up of hundreds of objects including just about every drawing he's ever put his hands on, Edwards says. Taken as a composite, all of this comes together as "Possessions" to represent Edwards' personal journey.
"From the beginning, I said, 'I'm going to mine my own biography for content this time,'" he says. "I think the issues I face are pretty well understood, even though, maybe, they're not issues a lot of people like to talk about. They're issues that people share, I think, and hopefully that gets brought forward."
NAN What's Up on 01/20/2017