As members of the Andover community walk through the Gelb Gallery, they will encounter sculptures, photographs, and paintings hanging from the ceiling. Made from a variety of materials such as wire, cloth, tissue paper, and yarn, each piece tells a uniquely personal story. Despite their differences, all of these works share one common element: a black hanger.
On Friday, October 4, students enrolled in Art 600 debuted their first exhibition of the term, titled “Hanging On.” Each student received a black hanger and was told to interpret the theme however they saw fit. This creative freedom allowed for personal expressions of students’ lived experiences, critiques of society, and much more.
For some students, the exhibition became an outlet for personal reflection. Elise Zhang ’26 created a piece titled “Fragments of Confidence,” which was directly related to her identity and the importance of staying true to oneself despite adversity. Using acrylic paint to depict a confident, warm-hued face on pieces of a shattered mirror, she encapsulated the fleeting nature of confidence. The piece was created in order to resonate with others who grapple with the struggle of maintaining one’s sense of self in difficult times.
“Everyone in the class interpreted it really differently and used different materials to create their piece and make it come to life… Something that really resonated with me was the theme of hanging on to my confidence despite what life throws at me or what other people think… While I feel like there is a lot that I hang on to, confidence and some of my other personality traits are things that are very pure to me. They are what speak to me the most, which is why I was drawn to this idea for the exhibition,” said Zhang.
On the contrary, Ivy Randall ’25’s piece, “Hooked,” forced the viewer to reflect on the things they hang on to, even without meaning to. More specifically, her piece criticized our generation’s unhealthy dependence on technology. Designed to engage with viewers on a personal level, the piece invited personal reflection on viewers’ own experiences with the internet by incorporating mirror paper, wire, and a painting that depicted the psychological effects of social media apps.
“What I hang on to the most is my phone and social media. There is a sort of literality to that because I’m always physically hanging on to my phone, but there is also a more figurative sense. Many of us hang on to the pressure of the perfect images and ideals that we see on social media. The premise of my artwork is that there is a figure that is made out of a mirror to reflect that this is a universal circumstance. When you walk by as a viewer you see yourself in the mirror and you’re forced to realize that you are severely impacted by this issue,” said Randall.
These student artists take great pride in their work, considering the challenges of the artistic process. Randall acknowledged how the project could have gone even better had they been more familiar with all of the materials. She shared how this made it a little difficult for her to get the ball rolling with her piece at first.
“The most challenging part was working with the wire because it was much harder than I anticipated. My original plan was pretty one-dimensional and boring, because I was not aware of all the materials I could use. In the end, I started experimenting with color and reflection and it ended up really going together well… Ultimately though, I am really proud of how cohesively it turned out,” said Randall.
The exhibition was ultimately about more than just creating visually aesthetic work. As student artists navigated challenges and experimented with various materials, they not only discovered new techniques but also built meaningful connections with one another. Zhang described how the class allowed for strong bonds to be formed as she saw her fellow students’ creative processes.
“This project in general, what I’m most proud of is getting close to the people in my class and seeing everybody’s artistic strengths and their own expression and how deep in thought and creative all of our students’ pieces were. I think seeing everybody’s different [materials], it was really inspiring to see how far you could go with it, and also seeing other people’s projects come to life,” said Zhang.
