Haverhill, MA (September 11, 2023) –The first art show of the 2023-24 academic year will open on the Haverhill Campus of Northern Essex Community College on September 19. The exhibition, titled “A Field of Lost Hair Ties,” will run until November 3, with an opening reception and Artist Talk on Thursday, September 21 at 3 p.m. in the Linda Hummel-Shea ArtSpace.

Picking Up from the exhibition “A Field of Lost Hair Ties”

Artist Sam Modder, a native of Nigeria who lives and works in Tampa, Florida, has created a larger-than-life mural made up of digitally manipulated ballpoint pen drawings that follow a Black woman in her nightdress and striped socks in a world made up of only her and her duplicates. Modder says the work is an allegory for our contemporary condition, confronting questions of power, exploitation, and resistance.

“In ‘A Field of Lost Hair Ties,’ I reflect on my careless consumption, an urge to hoard even when I have all I need, and the impact of my ambition and power on the natural world,” explains Modder. “Making this work during multiple climate-related disasters—in particular, the forest fires of this summer that continue to harm countless lives—it was hard not to make visual and conceptual connections between my imagined field and our very real forests.”

Modder says the work is a chapter in an ongoing series in which she presents a subjective Black woman’s fairytale to process interlocking structures of oppression.

“As my work towers above you, I hope you will step back into a space of childhood, wonder, and possibility. That you would, in the best of ways, feel small and open, ready, and willing to hear one more story.”

Modder holds two bachelor’s degrees from Dartmouth College and a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts from Washington University in St. Louis. Her work has recently been shown at the Cape Cod Museum of Art and The African American Museum in Dallas, Texas. Modder will serve as “Artist in Residence” at NECC from September 19-22.

The show is presented by the NECC Liberal Arts Division and the Art Department. The Linda Hummel-Shea ArtSpace is located on the first floor of the Bentley Library. Gallery events are free and open to the public. For more information on this exhibition, contact Michelle Carter or Marc Mannheimer.

Gallery Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 8 AM – 9 PM
Friday: 8 AM – 4 PM
Saturday and Sunday: closed