The artist's thoughts are posted on clear signage to highlight experiences in the environment.
“All the while the earth was humming,” an MFA thesis exhibition by Paulina King, is on view in Longenecker Horticultural Gardens March 18–April 12, 2025.
In her exhibition, King collaborates with natural phenomena in a series of site-specific installations at the Arts + Literature Laboratory (ALL) and the UW–Madison Arboretum. These works contribute to a growing body of work cataloguing poignant, ephemeral experiences the artist has had with nature.
At the Arboretum, terracotta vessels in Longenecker Horticultural Gardens capture rainwater to create reflection pools, visually reconstructing the surrounding environment into a mosaic of sky and trees. And a wind sensor in the Native Plant Garden sends information to the ALL, where a grouping of acrylic forms flutter in response, mimicking the mesmerizing dance of leaves high above. In both locations, prose highlights the sites of experienced phenomena, inviting the viewer into King’s process.
Together, these works ask the viewer to be swayed by the impact of natural phenomena and be present in experiencing the nuance and beauty around us. Through this reconnection to the physical world, King encourages contemplation of our relationship with our environment and suggests a more symbiotic existence on earth.
There will be a reception at ALL on Friday, April 4, from 6 to 8 p.m., and at the Arboretum on Saturday, April 5, from 1 to 3 p.m. Both of these events are free and open to the public.
Paulina King is an MFA candidate at UW–Madison Department of Art. She received the 2025 Arts + Literature Laboratory Prize, awarded to an outstanding graduating MFA student at UW–Madison.
