Kelly L. Adams

Artist’s Statement:

A fundamental part of the water system, wetlands act to filtrate by slowing the flow of water,
cleansing it as it passes, and allowing it to revitalize the water table. They serve as a natural
barrier to flooding and a buffer to storm damage. Given that powerful hurricanes impact North
America, it is vital to promote wetlands preservation. Yet these indigenous areas are perceived as
wastelands, misunderstood or ignored. Ineffectual for commercial production and devalued
because nature does not suite human purpose. People exploit these areas, attempt to deform
them and even evade laws designed to protect these sensitive
areas.
I draw wetlands because it is one of the few remote places left
to eastern North Carolina. The quietude of these spaces reveals
a unique relationship, a conversation if you will, where a place
speaks to me. These landscapes reveal a complex relationship
with a locale that becomes a translation of an inner landscape.
Because “Place” has the capacity to expose our spiritual
connections, it echoes our psyche as it becomes autobiographic
- a reflection of those who shape it. Our beliefs, or lack
thereof, shape how the land is perceived, managed, or
exploited. The marks left on the land remain as relics of the
extremes of our reverence, sentiment, or indifference to the
environment.

Biography

Kelly L. Adams was born in Bath, NY, and raised in Raleigh NC. She earned a Bachelor of Fine
Arts and Master of Fine Arts in Painting from East Carolina University and has been in her
current position at the East Carolina University School of Art and Design as Media Center
Director since 1997.