REXBURG—BYU-Idaho alumna and artist, Marissa Albrecht is bringing a new perspective to everyday objects through her exhibit, “In Passing,” now displayed in the Jacob Spori Art Gallery.
The exhibit features materials Albrecht has collected while walking, running, driving and traveling. Rather than seeing discarded objects like garbage, Albrecht looks at their colors, textures and histories and finds ways to give them a new purpose.
“‘In Passing’ is a collection of material that I’ve found on my path while I’m going from point A to point B, whether that’s driving or walking or traveling, like flying or on a run,” Albrecht said. “And so, everything you see and hear are things that I have physically picked up along my path.”
Albrecht said she specifically looks for objects that have already reached the end of their original purpose. Her collection includes pieces of metal found on roads, wood collected from a beach in Florida, packaging materials and even paint can lids she saved while working on a BYU painting crew.
Several pieces in the exhibit also use discarded materials to represent relationships. In her “Negotiations” series, Albrecht brings together objects with different appearances, histories and worn edges to symbolize the compromise that allows people to connect.
“The hope is that there’s a negotiation or a compromise or a way that we can be assembled together, and for it to kind of fit,” Albrecht said.
Another installation, “Express Delivery,” is made from used parcel materials, including boxes and packaging marked with words such as: “heavy,” “caution” and “rush.” Albrecht said the display reflects how people can become focused on reaching their next destination while overlooking what happens along the way.
Albrecht said visitors have told her the exhibit has changed the way they notice their surroundings. Some have even begun collecting objects themselves and taking them to her.
“For this entire exhibition, for the most part, it’s noticing things that they would otherwise disregard,” Albrecht said. “These small things, I find excitement out of them.”
For Albrecht, returning to BYU-Idaho as an alumna is especially meaningful. She said she is excited to display her work on the same gallery walls she once showed work on as a student and hopes the exhibit encourages current students to see the world around them a little differently.