Art Alum Returns to Wilmington for Solo Exhibit

Meredith Connelly ’11 has come a long way from her first illuminated artwork on campus with rope light from the hardware store.

Now a multidisciplinary artist based in Charlotte, Connelly was back in Wilmington this week setting up her first solo exhibit at the Cameron Art Museum. “Nested: Where Light Gathers and Nature Holds” is an outdoor installation of glowing nests that takes visitors on a warmly lit nature stroll through the cold night.

It’s a hallmark of Connelly’s style that has immersed viewers in displays in Charlotte and beyond, juxtaposing manufactured materials and the natural world. The cup-shaped nests are built by birds across North America, with wrens, finches, hummingbirds, all using different materials based on their size.

“I think a lot about that, and how natural intelligence and human observation of nature guides how we build things, how we communicate, how we interpret the world,” she said.

Her nests are built from reusable plastics, another hallmark in using materials that “people wouldn’t find as beautiful” like kitchen paper or coffee filters. She muses on whether bird nests far in future might look like this, built from more plastic and debris due to human impact on the environment.

Connelly had some help from UNCW students for this installation, and said she enjoyed talking to students taking some of the same classes she took. Now, she’s on the flip side.

“I really believe that it’s important for students to get hands-on experience, and I hire other artists from my community for installation support and fabrication,” she said.

“I think artists need other artists.”

Connelly’s exhibit will be up at Cameron through March 15.