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It began as an idea for an exhibition at Deep Roots Experience, a gallery founded a few years ago by David Ramsey in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood, called “In Loving Memory.”
“(It) was designed to tell the story of the relationship between nature and grief of loss, and it was centered around the statistics of the city of Cleveland’s homicide rates,” Ramsey says. “And as we got further and further and closer and closer, we realized that we were pigeonholing ourselves some and that the power that exists within nature as a healing space exists beyond just loss — traumatic experiences, mental health experiences, all of it. And so we decided to expand that a little, make it broader.
Ramsey says these words as the show — now called “The Nature of Healing” — is being given its final touches on the day before its opening on April 5, not at Deep Roots but instead at the Cleveland Botanical Garden, where it will run through May 18.
“We were able to open things up,” Ramsey says. “It’s not just about the loss of a physical person in that way. It could be the loss of a relationship. It could be the loss of a job. It could be a traumatic experience that you’re still working your way through. But recognizing that the peace and tranquility that exists with nature is something that we can take advantage of — and this is really the perfect space to do it.”
Featuring the work of more than 20 Northeast Ohio artists, “this show’s exploration seeks to unravel the complex interplay between natural elements and the emotional landscapes shaped by trauma and mourning,” state press materials from the Cleveland Botanical Garden. “The inspiration behind the work is to dig even further to explore what it means to utilize art and natural spaces as tools to support mental health and healthy communities.”
Ramsey calls the Cleveland Botanical Garden, with which Deep Roots had collaborated on a few smaller projects in recent years, “the perfect space” for “The Nature of Healing.”
“Because we had had an opportunity to build a rapport, it was a much easier process to say, ‘Hey, we’re thinking about this thing. It matches the work that you all are doing. Does this make sense?’” he says. “From the beginning, there was buy-in because we understood the goals together. And throughout the process, it’s been really (collaborative). (There is this) unique space where we are granted freedom to really push the envelope and to express while also creating structure from the experience that they have here at the garden.”
It made sense for the University Circle attraction — which, along with its more than nine acres of themed gardens, offers indoor spaces that have been used to display art shows — says Ryan Sandy, exhibitions manager.
“We’re thinking a lot about mental health and how you can use green spaces …. to foster mental health in a community,” he says. “And (the thought was), ‘Let’s kind of blend these two ideas together,’ and that’s what we came up with — this show that talks about grief and processing.”
Sandy adds, “As a garden, we really encourage people to step into nature. It’s been proved in studies that using green spaces as places to destress is hugely effective. And we’ve started working with different organizations to do this thing called ‘social prescribing,’ which is … instead of getting medicine, you might get prescribed a walk in the park with friends.”
“The Nature of Healing” is the latest step in Ramsey’s artistic journey, which involved a formative experience in Atlanta and a brief residency in Germany but that traces back to Fairfax, on Cleveland’s East Side, where he has sought to fill a void.
“I grew up in that neighborhood, and what I remember most is the absence of creative expression as a profession,” he says. “And I say this often: I probably would have started sooner had I known that it was a real job to do this type of work. And so that’s part of the mission, to create a space where young people can come and see, ‘Oh, this is, like, a job that I can go to school for’ — because there are so many people who are creative who find themselves trapped in spaces that don’t really allow them to express.”
Ramsey says those who have contributed work to the show are excited by the venue.
“We work primarily with emerging artists and mid-career artists, and for a lot of them, this is their first opportunity to display their work in a museum setting,” he says. “This is the first opportunity for them to have their work treated with the care that we were able to do here and really have their work curated in a way that speaks to the culture and community that they come from.”
One artist, Michael Boyd Roman — who came to Northeast Ohio a few years ago to teach at Oberlin College and Conservatory, where he is an assistant professor of studio art and African studies — has a space dedicated to his installation, “No Return for Negus.” It consists of a painting of a Black man, myriad audio speakers, candles and more.
Taking a break from installing the work, Roman says he took a “macro” approach to grief and loss with his piece.
“Mine is more about the loss of culture and the sense of identity that many Black Americans feel, not really having a legacy or a history that we can immediately pull from,” he says. “I can only trace my family lineage back to maybe my great-grandmother — and that’s on one side of the family. Anyone who could tell us more is long past. Many people I’ve met have similar stories.”
The candles are used, as they sometimes are in art, to represent the passage of time, and the speakers speak to the role of music in Black culture. And among the nods to the work’s overall theme convened in the painting are nods to the cultures of Ghana, Nigeria and Egypt, the latter including the crossed-arms pose that has been used in the “Black Panther” films as the “Wakanda salute.”
“I like that because it’s a superimposing of pop culture in the same way hip-hop has done,” he says.
The staff at the garden welcome collaborations with community partners because of the opportunities they present.
“We have programs going on throughout the whole run of the show that go along with the theme, whether it’s … free tours once a week with one of the artists … as well as an artist panel (noon April 20) that’s moderated by a grief counselor,” Sandy says. “(The show) is just a really great opportuntiy to use the garden in a different way.”
Ultimately, the myriad paintings, sculptures and other works on display at the Cleveland Botanical Garden in “The Nature of Healing” suggests the intersection where loss and grief meet creative expression is one that can generate a wide range of ideas, themes and moods.
“Art and creation is the universal language,” Ramsey says. “And in the spaces where conversation can be challenging, there’s value in having art that leads that conversation.”
‘The Nature of Healing’
Where: Cleveland Botanical Garden, 11030 East Blvd.
When: Through May 18.
Admission: Including with regular admission — $13 to $19.
Info: holdenfg.org or 216-721-1600.
