Reception February 9th 3-5 pm
Graffiti Smile by Victoria Rickards
The Jasper Project welcomes Victoria Rickards and Perry McLeod to thehallway: communityart at 701 Whaley for a two-person exhibition titled How to Love, celebrating all the ways we show our love for the month of February. An opening reception is scheduled for Sunday, February 9th from 3-5 pm in the 701 Whaley Hallway - Community Art space.
Victoria Rickards was born in 1999 in Miami, Florida, and is currently based in Columbia, SC. A multifaceted artist and lighting designer whose work challenges perceptions and explores themes of deception, fluidity, and surrealism, Rickards holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre, Lighting Design, and Technology from the College of Charleston and is pursuing a graduate degree in Lighting Design at the University of South Carolina.
Rickard’s artistic journey has taken her to prestigious venues, including the Columbia Museum of Art and Art Basel Miami and allowed her to collaborate on digital projects, contributing to innovative NFT designs and more. Her work has garnered recognition from respected institutions and media outlets, including features in Forbes. A passionate advocate for innovation in art and design, Rickards continues to push boundaries and inspire others through her creative vision.
Rickards paints with the heart of a storyteller, crafting narratives from her history. Her artistic evolution unfolds in stages of abstraction, beginning with faces and progressing into distorted bodies and maps. Latent representations emerge beneath layers of color, quietly rebelling against societal norms surrounding body and self. Her maps symbolize a metaphorical journey through physical and emotional landscapes, representing internal terrains of thoughts and memories.
Perry McLeod
Perry McLeod is a Fullbright scholar, retired high school teacher, and a photographer and avid traveler. He shoots sports, concerts, events, “and just about anything else I can point a camera at,” he says. “I love photography! Every day is a new adventure and I just want to capture the moments that will make people stop and think. Make people want to make a change. Make people smile. Make people go -"Damn", or "nice" or "wow". Photography is the most perfect art - we all get moments that will never happen again. It's frozen in time forever - how cool is that?”
A USC alumnus, McLeod taught Social Studies and Digital Media Production in both Richland District One and Richland District Two for 31 years. During his teaching career, he established a digital media production program at Richland Northeast High School, which fueled his love for photography and his fascination with video production. After retiring from education, Perry's passion for photography continued to grow, and he has worked for several local and national media outlets. In addition to photography, Perry has a deep love for travel. He says, "When I travel, my mind races with all the new things around me. I see a face, an old building, or an amazing vista, and I have to capture that moment." He believes that "a photograph is magic!"