‘Exaltation of the domestic’

“Anatolia’’ (watercolor), by Randolph, Mass.-based Annee Spileos Scott, in her show “Mapping My DNA,’’ at Galatea Fine Art, Boston, April 7-30.

She told the gallery:

"I have always been drawn to the ancient civilizations of Eurasia,

reveling in the brilliant colors and obsessive patterning. I was not

yet cognizant of the fact that many of them are in my DNA.

During the lockdown, I was encircled by family heirlooms and

souvenirs of my global travels from many of these cultural

destinations. Still lifes, inspired by these precious objects and the

results of my DNA testing, converged into metaphors for my

ancestral roots. The process of creating these paintings provided

beauty and salvation from the dark outer world of the pandemic.

The work celebrates women, keepers of cultures and tradition.

The exaltation of the domestic, displayed in arrangements of both

opulent objects and those of the everyday, reveal history, memory,

and a sense of belonging to a long line of women in my ancestry.

National fruits and flowers were added as organic elements,

symbolizing the source of all life which inhabits each region.’’

A cabin of the Ponkapoag Camp (established in 1921), of the Appalachian Mountain Club, on the eastern shore of Ponkapoag Pond in Randolph. The camp has 20 cabins, dispersed across a wooded area, that typically each sleep 4-6 people. No electricity or potable water is available at the camp; untreated water may be taken from the pond. In the summer the camp also makes available a few tent sites for camping. It’s near Great Blue Hill, at 635 feet, the highest point in Greater Boston.