Artists Merryn Omotayo Alaka and Sam Frésquez have created a collaborative exhibition titled "Your Birth is My Birth" at Jane Lombard Gallery in Chicago. The show features synthetic hair sculptures made from Kanekalon, suspended from the ceiling and spread across the floor like organic growths. Five distinct "species" of sculptures—Listening Roots, Hearing Bells, Mother & Child, Stacking Pearls, and Umbra Pods—draw inspiration from epiphytes, non-parasitic plants that grow on host specimens. The works explore themes of symbiosis, interdependence, and genetic inheritance, with mirrored forms emerging within vertical tendrils.
The exhibition matters because it offers a fresh, tactile approach to sculpture that bridges natural forms and synthetic materials, inviting viewers to reconsider relationships between organisms and their environments. By transforming a gallery into a "Kanekalon forest," Alaka and Frésquez create an immersive experience that resonates with broader conversations about ecology, connection, and the cycles of life. The show also highlights the growing trend of collaborative practices in contemporary art, where two distinct artistic voices merge into a cohesive, thought-provoking whole.