Gallery @ LangLab presents - Round 'em Up: Works by Laurie Rousseau and Ramiro Rodriguez

The Gallery at LangLab presents: Round 'em Up: Works by Laurie Rousseau and Ramiro Rodriguez Opening Friday May 12. Cash bar available for 21+. Light hors d'oeuvres will be served.

The exhibit highlights the work of two local artists, Laurie Rousseau and Ramiro Rodriguez. Combining themes of both the environment and organic food production with those of the plight of the Latino population, the theme “Round ‘Em Up” transcends multiple meanings.

Laurie Rousseau states that, “… I seek to draw the viewer in for a closer look at the drawings, patterns and arrangements of elements in my collages…meant to inform them of hidden dangers in our food and environment.” Specifically, this exhibit highlights works that were inspired while reading a book entitled “Spraying Crops” by Clarence M. Weed, circa 1891. “I use GMO’s as a subject for my work because it bothers me that most of the food we eat contain them. The DNA of GMO’s contain the pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and are Herbicide Tolerant (HT). HT crops were developed to survive application of specific herbicides, such as Roundup™, a version of the chemical glyphosate, an herbicide that previously would have destroyed the crop along with the targeted weeds."

Ramiro Rodriguez provides works primarily developed from linoleum and woodblock relief prints. Examples include “Just ICE”, from the Caritas: The Immigrant in the Word” suite, in which he paired bible quotes with contemporary scenes depicting the “alien, stranger or immigrant”. With the piece “Tierra y Libertad?”, Rodriguez comments, “I wanted to speak on the fight against big foreign seed companies that have potential to contaminate the indigenous corn strains with their gmo seeds. This in the land where corn was first domesticated. With this invasion, the companies have the power to ‘steal’ the modern Mexican farmers’ way of life just as the big hacienda owners did a century ago.”

[endif]--The exhibit will be available for viewing during LangLab’s open hours, every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 7pm – 11pm and during all public events until the closing on July 1, 2017. ![endif]--