Second Street Gallery is pleased to present If we allow ourselves to wander…, a solo exhibition by Charlottesville-based artist and writer Sri Kodakalla, held in the Dové Gallery March 5-26, 2021.

Developed within the past five months, If we allow ourselves to wander… is a collection of fiber work and mixed media collage that opens conversation for universal connections. Kodakalla uses only recycled or consigned scrap materials, including fabric from her own childhood garments. The intricate details, repetition of symbols and shapes, vibrant colors, and unconventional placement of patterns bring a sense of levity and wonder. Each piece in this collection exists as a moment or a vignette, but also as part of a larger collection of memories. If we allow ourselves to wander… is an invitation for connection, drawing the viewer into a journey of subconscious exploration in awareness, observation, and self-reflection on how we tell the stories of who we are. This body of work exists beyond the physical world and travels into an abstracted, emotional landscape. It asks the viewer to attend with patience and reverence for the longings of moments or memories that lie on the tips of our tongues, but that we can’t seem to place.

Kodakalla’s recent work explores symbols of identity and their relation to personal understandings of ownership, in claiming who we are, shaped by how we create meaning from the world around us. She uses non-linear storytelling to speak to the disparities of owning identity, often informed by her experience as a first-generation immigrant. Her work expresses a reverence and abundant curiosity for the interconnection of human beings and the natural world. Her study of these relationships evokes a sense of mysticism in the seemingly mundane. 

“This body of work does not have inherent meaning and does not pretend to. It serves as a dumping ground for memories. It’s about humility, agency, and vulnerability. However fleeting, it serves as an acknowledgement of a mood, a headspace, or an emotion. It is the bittersweet delight of creating lasting connections, only to see them swallowed up into a sea of expression. It is saturated with reflections on my experiences, all in the hope of facilitating a sense of normalcy in exploring, as well as owning your truth and identity.”

Sri Kodakalla is a mixed-media artist and writer based in Charlottesville, VA, currently exploring fiber art and printmaking. Kodakalla works and volunteers in several local arts organizations, focused on serving the creative growth of BIPOC artists and youth. She is the co-director of the Feminist Union of Charlottesville Creatives and is a renting member of McGuffey Art Center. Her work has been shown in numerous exhibitions in the greater Charlottesville area.

Browse and purchase available artworks online.