The Eide/Dalrymple Gallery at Augustana University opens “We are All Weeds: Susan Heggestad” which will be on view from November 15 through December 12. A gallery reception will be on Friday, November 15, 7-9 p.m.; with a talk by artist Susan Heggestad at 7:30 p.m.’

“We are All Weeds” is an exhibition of printmaking, mixed-media artwork, and installation by Susan Heggestad. Her work incorporates cast paper, found furniture, natural materials, stitching, beading, and other mixed-media techniques. In this body of work, Heggestad bases her imagery on plants, which “become a stand-in for “us” and the ways in which we envision the world—typically, centering only ourselves.” Plants are rich in symbolism, along with their associative terms, such as weed, seed, and growth. “Is a weed a noxious intruder to be eradicated, or simply a mysterious stranger we’ve yet to become acquainted with? Are they ‘us,’ or ‘them’? ‘Inside,’ or ‘outside’?”

“Plants urgently need to become the focus of our modern myths,” says Heggestad. “These works are my attempt at re-propagating mythic stories about our place in the world. Composting poison into medicine. My hope is that we learn what we need to from the world around us, before we succeed in eradicating it, and ourselves.”

Works in this exhibition were created with the support of grants from the South Dakota Arts Council.

The Eide/Dalrymple Gallery is located on Commons Circle (30th Street and Grange Avenue), in the Center for Visual Arts at Augustana University. The Eide/Dalrymple Gallery is open and free to the public, masks and social distancing required, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays, 1-4 p.m.