There are a lot of “what ifs” in the world.
As humans, we tend to be curious people. We’re constantly wanting to stay updated on the latest news and celebrity gossip. We ask tons of questions, and if we can’t find the answers we want, we Google them.
Sometimes with curiosity we can travel down paths no one’s ever thought of. After all, that’s how some of the best books are made, I mean _Harry Potter_ and _Game of Thrones_ weren’t just thought of mid-shower.
Neither was “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel, a novel set 20 years after a nationwide pandemic that killed off a majority of the world’s population. The novel follows a group of performers attempting to survive in the world they once knew.
“Station Eleven” was nominated and selected this year by the community for the Daniel Boone Regional Library annual One Read program.
In the past, the program has had local artists over the age of 16 submit their work to the library to be displayed as a representation of themes in the chosen book. Four years ago, that changed when then the One Read program partnered up with Orr Street Studios in downtown Columbia.
Now, they have the annual show and judging at the gallery, allowing more entries to be displayed and greater coverage of the event. Williams describes the combined efforts as the “perfect venue and partnership.”
The entries are judged on their quality of work, technical skills and how well the piece meshes with the show’s theme. To get different perspectives, they usually have a photographer, an artist and a literary expert as judges on the panel.
With “Station Eleven” selected as this year’s book, the program asked artists to illustrate something they would miss in this type of catastrophe, thus the creation of Remnants: One Read Art Exhibit.
When asked why this exhibit is different from the years before, Amy Meyer, the studio’s art director, explains that usually the artists had a prompt or even sometimes just the title of the book, but now it’s different because there is no wrong or right answer.
“It’s kinda like Christmas when people start bringing things in,” Meyer says.
From warm baths, Saturday morning cartoons and even McDonald’s, all the entries have a distinctive aspect about them.
As you walk through the gallery, you notice a strong theme of light and electricity.
“They’re very simple things but really evoke this huge idea … that not having (electricity) would change your life dramatically,” Williams says.
Now if we were to lose those two key elements we’d also lose technology, which is showcased by my favorite pieces, an old MacBook laptop that is painted over as a garden of flowers that has butterflies flying over them.
The piece really puts emphasis on that with technology, we’d also lose the daily communication we have everyday and the certain comfort of knowing what and how our love ones are doing.
When I asked both Meyer’s and Williams’s what they would miss, they both agreed on the easy accessibility of communication.
As you look through the exhibit, you too will start to question the things you would miss if the world really did end tomorrow just like exhibit intended.
“That’s what good art should do, it should make you think,” Meyer says.