English Professor shares essay on the art in current ZMA exhibition

KENNESAW, Ga. (Oct 13, 2020) — Ecocritic Elizabeth Giddens interviewed Erin Jane Nelson in her studio in February 2020. They discussed Nelson’s concerns about how climate change is affecting human communities as well as the natural world. Nelson shared her intellectual and intuitive approach to several pieces in the ZMA show “it’s your world for the moment.” She also described features of her technique such as hapa-zome printing.

In her essay “Solastalgizing the Georgia Coast,” Giddens interprets Nelson’s practice through the lens of ecocriticism and highlights the themes of solastalgia, anthropomorphism, and posthumanism that emerge from her sculptures, collages, and wall panels.

The essay is also available on Giddens’ web page.

Elizabeth Giddens, professor of English and professional writing at Kennesaw State University, is an ecocritic who studies the rhetoric of environmental discourse, including climate change and sustainability. She may be contacted at egiddens@kennesaw.edu.