evolving artist collaboration adds a new “Flavor” to Izzy’s for 3S show in Portsmouth

This week, Sarah Haskell makes her mark on an evolving art exhibition that two other artists have already begun.

The exhibition, organized by 3S Artspace, “Flavor: A Collaborative Art Installation,” is on view until mid March through the windows of Izzy’s Frozen Yogurt and Ice Cream in downtown Portsmouth, which is closed for the season.

Each of three artists will make three changes to the storefront at different intervals during the display. They are allowed to add new materials or manipulate existing ones, but not remove them, so that they are building on the work of others. Their modifications remain on view undisturbed for a week before the next artist responds.

“It’s kind of scary. We don’t know what’s going to happen,” said artist Kate Doyle. “You’re putting the work of your heart into the hands of somebody else.”

Doyle is collaborating with Brad Gordon and Ivan Stanek, who installed “Untitled (Flavacomets),” a mixed media kinetic sculpture melding art and science.

The first modification was made by Laura Braciale, who set large, white snowflake cutouts against a colorful painted backdrop of horizontal, sweater-like stripes.

Doyle’s team then hung the snowflakes from the ceiling as though falling from the sky and covered the wall with a deep blue canvas that came to represent both outer and inner space. 

At the center, like a planet or nucleus, is a handmade metal sphere lit from within and slowly revolving with curly, cherry red willow branches reaching out like the dendrites of a nerve cell.
Two red-orange satellites revolve to either side of the center. Fake eyeballs and lips hang in the space and gather in piles below.

Doyle has been delving into science as inspiration in recent years to better understand what’s behind what we see. In researching the sense of taste, she found that the nose and tongue convert a molecule into electrical impulses through an “almost miracle” process. Nerves send the information to the brain to determine if something is healthy or poisonous.

“So it’s a survival mechanism,” Doyle said.

She also found that taste buds look like a fruit hybrid of a fig and orange, and that some nerve cells look like dancers and others like a man-of-war.

The installation was shaped after the way natural forms repeat at differing sizes and serve different functions in the universe.

The branches in the project resemble nerve fibers and the human vascular system, but also lightning and rivers. The orb at the center is like the brain, processing information about the environment through the senses.

The layered concept connects our miraculous inner impulses with the wonder of outer space, neither of which we can control.

Though Doyle feels some “uneasiness” about not knowing what direction the exhibition will go in, she’s looking forward to finding out. She said letting go of control and being open to other ideas means the project can end up being something completely new that none of them would have done on their own.

“We all knew that between the proposal and the installation, things can change,” Doyle said. “The whole idea is unpredictability and working with what comes up and developing a collaborative system.”

The artists take ownership of their different moves, but are also including the work of others, so each week it may be drastically different, but there should be some cohesiveness throughout.
“It’s one show and it’s nine shows,” she said. 

Though unexpected, the street corner location of Izzy’s works well, especially when lit up in the evening. The bare branches of nearby trees repeat the patterns and shadows of those inside.

The 3S team has launched a capital campaign to renovate its future home at 319 Vaughan St. and open a gallery, music venue and restaurant inside. In the meantime, the nonprofit has organized events through its Open Space series. Portsmouth’s PixelMEDIA recently kicked off the campaign with a contribution of $250,000.

The “Flavor” project launched on New Year’s Eve and runs through the winter with changes every week. Izzy’s is at 33 Bow St. in Portsmouth.