5&Under 2023

5&Under

FEBRUARY 20 – MARCH 24, 2023

stArt gallery

stArt’s annual 5&Under program invites Wake Forest alumni who have graduated within the last five years to engage with current students about their transition after graduation into art-connected careers or education.

This year stArt is pleased to welcome back Sophie Heldt (’20, Art History) and Lucas Williams (’19, Studio Art).

On Wednesday, March 15th, at 4pm in Hanes Gallery, Lucas & Sophie will be hosting an Art Talk to discuss their art and creative careers post-grad, immediately followed by a reception in the stArt Gallery at 5pm in the presence of Lucas’s exhibition, Along the Way. Lucas & Sophie will also be present on Thursday, March 16 for a drop-in style “Office Hours” Meet & Greet @ 11:30am – 1:30pm in Scales 103.

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“Along the Way is an exhibition which allows me to explore my memories and some of the relationships I have gained and lost. It asks questions of time, memory, coincidence, and patience. This exhibition features collections of my favorite photographs over the last few years, but what sticks with me more than what was captured are the elusive moments I missed. The relationship between moments that align and misalign inspire me to further my practice of photography. Thus, this exhibition is a celebration of the pieces that happened to come together in time and place and moment.”

“The Lookout Series (2021) presents a continuous portrait that captures a span of 2,000 square miles from a mountain peak in northern California, while working for the Forest Service as a fire lookout. This series depicts how an environment observed from the same vantage point can be radically different from one moment to the next. This notion of time and change within environments, and my place within an environment, is a recurring theme in my work. In addition to the Lookout Series, this exhibition includes a variety of other landscape photographs and scenes of the natural environment which reinforce my connection to memory and travel.”

“As a complement to my landscape photography, I also gravitate towards street photography. Both of these subject matters allow me to confront these feelings of staying attentive and in-the-moment in my respective environments. I feel that street photographs offer glimpses of the moment-to-moment transformation of the present, where intention and coincidence intersect. For instance, the blue walking man in the series Color Obsession (2018) is a representation of coincidence, but also an enduring image of patience, even if it was captured in haste. The serendipitous intersection of blue elements in this image presents the inherent contradiction of intentionality and coincidence in my photography. Spidey (2018) is another example of this: capturing a moment where youth and elderhood, color and character, cross paths through a spontaneous moment. The necessity of simply being there is a challenge I embrace and love in my pursuit and growth in photography and life. “

“The self portraits and photographs of my late grandmother and newborn niece allow me to further confront what it means to be present, in addition to providing an exploration of memory and time through my anxieties of mortality. In this way, these portraits serve as a direct contradiction to street photography. In street photography, I am at the mercy of the environment. Portraiture gives me control and allows me to more deeply investigate my subject and form a two-way relationship, whether with another individual or myself.”

“This exhibition features a collaborative component with the work of two other artists: Sophie Heldt and Dimitri Dikhel. Through our collaboration, we explore the concept of looking back on the past and the ways in which memories transfigure when passed from one person to another. This experimental collaboration allowed other artists to transform my association of memory and image and craft their own representation of memory and time.”

“Throughout the exhibition, there are different photo processing mediums, from digital process to analog black & white – all mediums captured through three different cameras – as well as photo alteration. Through collaboration, the varied techniques and processes, and different photographic styles of choice show my attempt to experiment as a photographer and furthermore, capture and nurture my relationship with people and environments.”

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About the Artist:

Lucas Williams earned his BA in English with a minor in Studio Art from Wake Forest University in 2019. Lucas is currently an MFA student in Screenwriting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. He is interested in television and feature screenplay writing and is passionate about exploring stories about humanity and time within the genres of science fiction and fantasy. Lucas is also a freelance photographer and videographer. He loves adventuring and odd jobs. Lucas is an Eagle scout who turns his camera towards the outdoors and to the people he has the opportunity to meet along the way. Lucas has been a wildland firefighter and fire lookout and hopes to continue working seasonal positions with the Forest Service in many different capacities as well as forging a career in the film industry.