Artist Lucy Bailey is presenting a solo exhibition titled "Roots and Wings" at the Aiken Center for the Arts, running through April 29. The show features nearly 50 mixed-media works created on vintage early 20th-century infant gowns, exploring the complex origins of human identity through themes of genetics, genealogy, community, and nature. Bailey utilizes diverse materials—ranging from DNA-inspired patterns and family photographs to resin-dipped cicada wings—to symbolize the foundational "roots" of selfhood and the "wings" of individual expression.
The exhibition marks a significant transition for the Aiken Center for the Arts as it is the final show organized under the leadership of Executive Director Caroline Gwinn, who recently announced her retirement. Gwinn is credited with significantly elevating the institution's professional standards and expanding its programming across visual arts, music, and literature. The show serves as both a highlight of regional contemporary craft and a tribute to Gwinn’s impactful tenure at the helm of the South Carolina arts organization.