Stéphanie Williams | Rooted Whispers
July 5 - 27 . 2025
Opening Reception | Saturday July 5 from 2-4pm at the SHED . 18 Arlington Street . Gloucester MA
“Rooted Whispers began as my MFA thesis project, first installed at MASS MoCA in January 2025. The idea was sparked the previous summer, when friends invited me to Jane’s Shed—a surprising place for art. There, I encountered Elizabeth Awalt’s Swimming with Groupers, an intimate, multisensory experience that stayed with me.
Later, while working with wood and tree imagery, the memory resurfaced. I had been struck by the shed’s interior planks, marked by time and weather. During deinstallation in North Adams, I reimagined the piece—turning the painting, experimenting with Icelandic red wool soaked in beeswax, thinking about flow and rhizomes.
I recalled the shed, built around a tree with windows framing its bark. This new version enters into dialogue with that tree—red strands escaping the window to follow the contours of its bark. Inspired by Gloucester’s maritime heritage, I thought of caulking: sealing wooden seams with wax."
Stay. Listen. Smell. Touch. Breathe. Rest.” — Stéphanie Williams
From the artist's MFA thesis project . Color pencils, pastels, graphite, charcoal, Inks, beeswax, Icelandic wool
From the artist's MFA thesis project . Color pencils, pastels, graphite, charcoal, Inks, beeswax, Icelandic wool
From the artist's MFA thesis project . Color pencils, pastels, graphite, charcoal, Inks, beeswax, Icelandic wool
The SHED @ 18 Arlington Street . Gloucester MA . Exterior view .
The SHED @ 18 Arlington Street . Gloucester MA . Exterior side view .
The SHED @ 18 Arlington Street . Gloucester MA . Night photo from a past exhibition 2018 .
The SHED @ 18 Arlington Street . Gloucester MA . Interior view from a past exhibition 2023 .