“Primordial Soup,” the capstone exhibition of students in the senior class of the bachelor of arts in visual arts, is on display through Saturday, May 6, at the Emery Community Arts Center at the University of Maine at Farmington. An opening celebration will take place from from 4:30-7 p.m. on Thursday, April 6.

“Primordial Soup” features the artwork of graduating seniors Elly Bernard from Jay, Jett Jordan from Stonington, Gavyn Moreshead from Dover Foxcroft, Ana Rogers from Farmington and Emma Wallace from Minot. This multi-media group show includes sculpture, painting, drawing, digital art and animation.

Participating art students will each give an artist talk that presents the ideas, research and processes that inspired their thesis work at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19. The exhibition and all related events are free and open to the public.

“These students have had a rich undergraduate experience at Farmington that has helped them to fulfill both their creative and career aspirations,” said Jesse Potts, associate professor of art and capstone advisor. “While majoring in Visual Arts, they have also had the opportunity to broaden their studies with other majors and minors, including Performing Arts, Music, New Media, Graphic Design, Film Studies and Creative Writing, to mention a few. They are well prepared to take the next steps in their future and we are looking forward to all they will accomplish.”

The show title harkens back to the complex environmental factors that came together to create life. With a playful nod, the collection of artworks in the exhibition explore the conditions necessary for critical thinking and creative action, and engage themes of entertainment, horror, physical labor and political agendas.

Elly Bernard focuses on human rights movements through found objects and paint. Jett Jordan utilizes traditional pencil drawing techniques to explore themes of horror. Gavyn Moreshead pulls concepts from pop culture and comic books to explore the feeling of alienation and overcoming it through these mediums. Ana Rogers looks at capitalism through the use of labor intensive techniques and medical imagery. Emma Wallace explores the questions and issues of everyday life through miniatures and animation.

These themes all share one commonality – to encourage the viewer to critically examine the world around them.

The Emery Arts Center gallery is located on Academy St. (between Main St. and High St.) in downtown Farmington. The gallery is open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Closed Sundays and holidays. Please check Emery’s website for updates at wpsites.maine.edu/emerycommunityartscenter. For more information contact Ann Bartges, director of UMF Emery Community Arts Center at ann.bartges@maine.edu or 207-778-7461.