The underside of a 52-inch water lily from Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania
John Wayne Jackson’s contemporary fossils—impressions of leaves preserved in stone composite—are on display through July 30 at Seven Sisters Gallery in Black Mountain. Jackson has stockpiled more than 120 varieties of leaves since he started 18 years ago.
All “textured and organic,” they pay homage to Mother Nature. “I am presented with a perfect form—nature at its absolute finest,” says Jackson. “My job is not to improve but to make it permanent.”
He likens his sculptures to a dinosaur footprint. Before an asteroid wiped out the monolithic reptiles, some T-Rex stepped in mud, and the appendage left an impression. Hypothetically, silicon could be poured into the textured grooves to make a reusable stamp.
Jackson is doing something similar in his 3,000-square-foot studio, Imagine That! Creations. First, he collects “solid, earthy” leaves. Typical specimens include hollyhock, sunflower and maple. There’s also the beverage collection: hops from nearby Pisgah Brewing, Malbec from Napa Valley and wild grapes from Appalachia. From there, he casts a mold with stone composite and creates a rubber lookalike. The silicon is sensitive enough to detect a fingerprint but durable enough to withstand 500 future pulls.
Andrea McNair, owner of Seven Sisters, says the gallery will be covered floor-to-ceiling with 52-inch water lilies and 34-inch palms. But don’t expect any watercolors or hand-thrown pots. This exhibition is strictly limited to Jackson’s work.
“This will be the first show we’ve ever had that won’t have any paintings,” says McNair. “Art doesn’t always come with a frame.”
Seven Sisters is located at 117 Cherry Street in Black Mountain. Admission is free. For more information on John Wayne Jackson, call 480.528.6775 or find Imagine That! Creations on Facebook.
