Paintings, pots and film: Naya Ben-Meir, Lily Miro and Faith Soriano open senior art show

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Photo credit: Rose Sarner

Lily Miro (’22) shows observers her ceramic cups, bowls and sculptures that depict people’s mouths. Miro, Ben-Meir and Soriano filled the Eastern Star Gallery with different forms of self expression and artwork that all came together to make “énouement.”

By Rose Sarner, Culture Editor

A variety of unique projects, all from various artists, and all of which are forms of self-reflection. Senior art students Naya Ben-Meir, Lily Miro and Faith Soriano each specialize in specific forms of artwork. Their joint exhibit entitled “énouement,” that was opened from May 4 to May 11, highlighted each individual’s relationship with younger versions of themselves.

“The title emphasizes the feeling of nostalgia, of being in the future and not being able to tell your past self how things have turned out,” Ben-Meir said. “We wanted to embody that in our show with this idea of looking into your past self and telling them about how the future turned out. We wanted to make the Eastern Star Gallery a little room into the past with the scents, the books and the music.”

Soriano’s portion of the exhibit focused on exploring one’s past self and identity through film. Ben-Meir said the goal of the exhibit is for students to find connections to what they used to love and ponder how far they have come.

Our goal was to make the room very comfortable and like a childhood bedroom, in a way. That idea of comfort is really important to all of us in our different worlds.

— Naya Ben-Meir ('22)

“Our goal was to make the room very comfortable and like a childhood bedroom in a way. We brought in art, some of our favorite childhood books, and we have a little couch in there for people to relax,” Miro said. “That idea of comfort was really important for all of our different forms of artwork.”

Ben-Meir incorporated her own paintings in the exhibit that ranged from depictions of classic childhood movies like “Alice in Wonderland” to illustrations of her own childhood bedroom.

“It was a coincidence that all of our work went together,” Ben-Meir said. “My particular work was about reflecting on childhood stories — my favorite childhood stories, my connection to them, how they’ve impacted me as I’ve gotten older and how they connect to my daily life.”

Since Miro is an AP ceramics student, she decided to highlight her year-long sustained investigation that focused on pots, bowls and cups. Each of Miro’s ceramic pieces had mouths attached to them, which represented the past few years when she said that many felt mouthless.

“For the past years, we’ve had to cover our mouths, and I felt like we take the expressions that we make with our mouths for granted,” Miro said. “Within that realm of mouths, I focused on my past experience with speaking — speaking up, how we interact with others and anything to do with expressions we make with our mouths.”

Junior Eliza Tiles said that school can be difficult and stressful at times for students. Tiles said she has been able to find comfort in exploring the gallery exhibit.

“I can feel the connections people are making within themselves and the community,” Tiles said. “I feel like I am in this cool environment that is not only explorative but reflective.”

From mouths to childhood bedrooms, Ben-Meir and Miro said they believe there is room for each person to find and explore their own self within “énouement.”

“One thing we were really trying to make the focus was the vibe you feel when you walk in the gallery. We paid special attention to making it feel very comforting and homey,” Miro said. “We wanted people to walk in and think about their own past selves and try to find connections to what they used to love, or what they used to enjoy when they were a child.”