The Sanctuary
Sanctuary: A refuge, a safe space, protection
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The world and its demands are overwhelming and really really heavy. I feel it in my community everyday. The pressure and the pain are causing a huge spike in anxiety, severe depression and suicide in our community. My job as an artist is to express what my heart and hands are reacting to. A deep need of sanctuary in a time of conflict and strife. I want to transport people to another world. Somewhere unexpected, somewhere the pressure doesn't have to ride in the front seat. Like Alice we find ourselves in a curious wondrous liminal space.
The Sanctuary is intended to inspire feelings of wonder and peace and be a safe space people are invited to imagine, and disrupt the daily expectation. Inside The Sanctuary is the 9.5’ tall Sanctuary Tree. The Tree was created using mostly mundane materials from the hardware store, scrap materials from around the Fruit (The Fruit, an arts and events space here in Durham, studio and home base to myself and several other artists), the Scrap Exchange, Beauty World and papier-mâché . The walls have been chiseled, burned, carved, and painted to create multiple different finishes including a long stone wall and a large portal.
In, around and through the Sanctuary tree, exists
an entire symbiotic ecosystem. The multiple representations of life forms need each other to survive and in fulfilling their own purpose something very beautiful flourishes and thrives. The Sanctuary is an act of meditation and creation that will evolve and grow while on display at the Fruit, 305 S. Dillard St., Durham 27701
THE ARTIST
I'm Chrystal Kelly, I am an Artist:
Studio, Portrait, and Event Photographer, Installation Artist, Creative Director & Art Dept based in Durham, North Carolina.
I got my first camera (film camera) when I was 13 years old. When I was 15 my family and I moved from Sussex, NJ to Durham, NC. During this time of upheaval, I found solace and mentorship in my art teacher, who fostered my passion for photography and enabled me to setup an independent study, in the unused darkroom of the High School after taking a Dark Room Basics class at the Durham Arts Council.
When I turned 20 I moved to New Orleans. Where I worked as a bartender in the French Quarter for several years. I returned to North Carolina and earned an associate's degree in Graphic Design in 2007 and later a BFA in Photography in 2016 (as a single mom). Since then, my work has graced regional and national magazines, cover art for variety of performers. I have designed and created sets and props for commercials, music videos and short films. I am a Resident Artist, Event Photographer and Studio Coordinator at Durham Fruit.
