SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated an entire region, destroying everything in its path, leaving only a broken Southern spirit and an incorruptible childhood memory.

Almost two years later, artist Mery Lynn McCorkle pays tribute to the memories made at Biloxi, Miss., a common spot where she spent vacations with her family as a young girl. Through her unique genre of work, McCorkle is able to capture the ‘nostalgia’ left after the storm.

“Biloxi” is on display June 14 through July 28 at the Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum at Cal State San Bernardino. An opening reception will be held June 14, 4:30-7 p.m., with a preview for Friends of the Museum at 4 p.m.

The “Biloxi” series focuses on “the ephemeral nature of life and memory,” says McCorkle. Many of the shapes in her pieces are created by tracing tree shadows cast on the front lawn of her parent’s Georgia home. The patterns are based on the types of clothes her family wore as she was growing up in Mississippi.

“The pieces themselves hang directly on the wall, allowing the fragmentary quality of the compositions to interact with the white wall suggesting residue left at high tide on a white beach,” says McCorkle. “My goal is to share these fragments of memory and offer viewers some of the richness of the experience of living in the heat by the shallow waves of the Gulf.”

McCorkle has exhibited her work in art galleries nation wide since 1990. A graduate of the University of Oregon, she received her M.F.A. in printmaking, and B.A. in literature from the University of Georgia. In addition to many projects as an artist and writer, McCorkle has also curated a number of shows, including the most recent, “Pillow Talk,’ on display at the Ruth Bachofner Gallery in Santa Monica in April 2007.

Mery Lynn McCorkle
Matching Outfits, 2006

Mery Lynn McCorkle
Grandmas Jacket, 2006