Depths 2025 Recap
The Bakery presented Depths, an annual group exhibition featuring sculptural and 3D works, May 23 - June 8, 2025. The reception took place on the evening of May 24, 2025, at The Supermarket, located at 638 North Highland Avenue Northeast.
From curation to installation, each step of Depths was handled with care and attention from various members of The Bakery team. Programs Manager Madison Nunes, exhibition team member Jaedon Mason, seasoned volunteer Shiver, and summer interns Sophia Chenault and Caitlyn Bailey each contributed to the process, shaping the exhibition with the creative intuition of everyone involved.
Upon completion of the installation, the gallery ultimately showcased works of various heights, shapes, and, of course, depths. The diversity of the exhibit, however, extends beyond its physical elements. It encompasses the multiplicity of the participating artists' missions, some of whom came from outside of Georgia to participate, such as South Carolina-based artist Kevin Kao.
Megan Laura Brooks (they/them), a Queer, Atlanta-based artist, presents a timeline of memories in their piece When I think of her, I think of hunger (2024), utilizing beads from their friends' childhood, earrings that belong to their mother, and adds a sensorial element with the use of fresh maraschino cherries. Their imaginative method of creation is stated in the gallery booklet, in which they write:
“By imposing maraschino cherries into this collection of items (When I think of her, I think of hunger), the attractive red cherries become sickly and grotesque in their delectable sweetness; one can imagine them dripping, feeling the stickiness on their body. The collection of items in the mobile weaves an ambiguous narrative that twists around itself, existing in a hyper-real queer world.”
- Megan Laura Brooks (they/them)
The piece evokes the feelings one experiences when flipping through a scrapbook or yearbook, nostalgic and visceral. AnnaLee Burnstein’s (she/her) Spilling Out (2024) and Childhood (2024) represent what lies hidden in the crevices of our bodies, sometimes spilling out without conscious volition. Burnstein wrote the following in regards to her physiological and emotional exploration of exposure:
“In Spilling Out, I use imagery resembling the inside of the human body to cause an unsettling exposure of our insides. We keep the tender parts of ourselves hidden and protected. But sometimes there’s no more hiding and things spill out of us, exposing our softest, most sensitive places. Forcing us to live openly and vulnerably in a way that is deeply uncomfortable.”
- AnnaLee Burnstein (she/her)
One of the pieces that was purchased during the reception, Gargoyle I (2024), also traverses a plane of tension that exists alongside quietness and stillness. Artist Angelica Silva labels the ominous figures as a “silent observer…holding its ground, collecting thoughts, preparing for what comes next.” A creation from Open Hand Studio (Michelle Khandadash), titled Cave Monster, also sold and speaks to the evolution of language in human history—a vital aspect of our humanity and ability to understand one another.
To find out more about the complexities and nuances illustrated in each work showcased in Depths, check out the gallery booklet.
