Fairmont seniors collaborate on artistic exhibit
By Shirley Shuman
Marlayna Hickson, a graduate of Braxton County High School, and Hannah Sprout, of Parkersburg have worked together to create an exhibition which reflects their ideas of allowing different points of view about women in today’s world. Fairmont State University recently featured the exhibit—a combination of photography by Hickson and paintings by Sprout, in the J.D. Brooks Gallery in Wallman Hall. The two women’s work has been selected to be shown at the 228 Gallery in downtown Fairmont during April 11 and 12 during commencement weekend.
Titled “Exposure,” Hickson’s artistic photography “allows an aspiring way to view resilient woman who are determined to create an atmospheric setting for different points of view,” she noted. She explained that “each piece in [her] show was an experimentation with different forms of light, shadows, angles, and concepts.”
Discussing her motivation for developing her exhibit more fully, the senior said, “I went to Fairmont State knowing that I wanted to create art based on my love for photography, and I was resilient in pushing myself to always go further. I spent an entire semester creating these works. Sometimes the shoot would go to plan and sometimes I would have to veto an idea altogether.”
Hickson added that she “created this concept of how woman receive exposure,” adding, “I enjoy creating work that does not have only one meaning. I want to know how everyone feels personally about the pieces and what connection they are able to create with them.”
Marlayna Hickson first became interested in photography when she was an eighth grade student at Braxton County Middle School. She said the interest “probably came because [she] took photographs which made people happy.” She added, “That made me want to be better,” and she obviously has accomplished that goal.