Caged Lion (1976–77), Bernard Langlais’s monumental wooden sculpture on the lawn next to the L.C. Bates Museum, perfectly encapsulates the notion of captivity. Taking its cue from the 2021–22 state-wide initiative on Freedom & Captivity, the 2022 L.C. Bates summer exhibition invites artists to reflect upon the meanings that these two concepts hold for the natural world and the ways in which we conceive, represent, and imagine freedom and captivity in nature. Possible avenues of reflection are, for instance, wilderness, cultivation, and domestication. The L.C. Bates is a non-traditional, encyclopedic museum with a focus on the natural world. Its annual summer exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the museum’s staff and two Colby students under the supervision of Prof. Véronique Plesch (students will be invited to apply for the curatorship in the fall semester, and once selected, will start working on the exhibition; they receive academic credit in the spring semester). The exhibition’s opening reception will occur on May 7th, 2022 from 4-6 pm at the museum.

Featured Image: Bernard Langlais, Caged Lion, 1976–77, wood, L.C. Bates Museum, Hinckley, Maine (photo: John Meader).