Artists I Admire: Hannah Perrine Mode
by Nikki Devereux | 05.13.21
I was recently doing some research for a project that I’m working on and came across an artist whose work fascinated me. Her name is Hannah Perrine Mode. Her work is nothing short of extraordinary, and there is a lot of it. She is a prolific creator, and she seems to have no boundaries. From installations in museums to 2D digital commercial illustration, she does it all, and does it well.
My love for Perrine’s work is not limited to the beauty and imagination of the work; I find comfort in artists whose work is like a growing tree – it sends out branches in many different directions, and then leaves grow on those branches, and they all reach for the source of energy, in the case of a tree, the sun. Perrine’s art is like this. And in a similar way I find myself exploring so much with my artwork: techniques, thematics, and stories, as well as mediums. I am not a painter, or a photographer, or a sculptor, yet I am all of these things. My source of energy is creating something that moves people, whether to emotion or action or cause.
My favorite works by Perrine are her installations. In particular her New Constellations mural project at one of Google’s campuses is absolutely breathtaking, both visually and thematically. I love the deep, moody blue of the cyanotype blueprints with the dusty, airy constellations bursting through the paper… I feel like I’m looking deep into space. Within these stellar works, she creates her own constellations for under-recognized women in the history of STEM; this is just so brilliant I could weep. The mural is accompanied by a booklet that serves as both a map of the constellations as well as a reference guide for them. In it you learn all you need to know about the STEM women whose life and work are recognized (finally) by the constellations.
The addition of the booklet in the New Constellations mural project is especially interesting to me because I’ve been experimenting with book-making since I started working with my artist mentor at the onset of the Creative Pinellas Emerging Artist grant period. I’ve started a book and have several ideas for other books both as their own projects and as accompaniments to projects. It’s one of the reasons I started making my own paper.
In short, Hannah’s work is expansive and inspiring, and I recommend discovering it. Make sure you leave plenty of time for exploration, there is a lot of fascinating content and imagery to enjoy!
