The Visceral Narrative

Senior Natasha Oduor-Owino wanted her exhibit to be more than something that people just look at. Her show, which is on display in the Kinlaw Library lobby, comprises the work of multiple semesters for Oduor-Owino. She even includes her rst piece in the display. She said, “I named it visceral narrative because I wanted it to be the narrative of the viewer.”

To engage in the visceral means to engage in the living, the vibrant and the touchable. “I wanted people to interact with the pieces in the way that they most come to life. I wanted them to have movement. I wanted people to have their own narrative to what they’re seeing,” said Oduor-Owino. She curated the display in a way that invited people to participate in the vision of her art. She wanted to make it approachable and interactive.Most importantly, Oduor-Owino wanted to invite people into what she experiences during the creation process. She said, “I like communicating through color. I think color can get across messages that I can’t necessarily articulate properly in poetry. I think color can make people feel certain ways, and I wanted people to get a calming, soothing, meditative experience when they’re in that space. I almost wanted them to feel the way I feel when I make those works, [when] I feel closest to God.”

Oduor-Owino begins her work with simple shapes, and she begins to layer on multiple colors, di erent shapes and di erent textures. She said, “Even when I was younger, I was a very tactile person.” So, she wants people to engage with her art the way she created it; she wants them to experience it in all its depth. She said, “I want people to touch the art. e mass. I want people to run their ngers over the texture. at’s why I made it that way.”

Creating this display has been a journey for Oduor-Owino, but she is excited and grateful to nally be able to share her work with the people for whom she intended it. She said, “Being an artist is quite lonely, and it’s been reassuring to come out at the end and to have people see my vision the way I imagined it. When you’re working on it in pieces, it’s harder to visualize, but to have it all come together and have other people appreciate it has been a magical experience.”