Sydney Kate Watson, asst. arts & living editor

“Dust Ye Shall Be” is the current art exhibit in the Moon Gallery that runs through Thursday Nov. 18. The exhibit is like no other, from its creation to its smell and the end that awaits it. 

The exhibit’s uniqueness lies in its medium: spices. The piece has a focus on geometric forms that are created from spices, like the types commonly found in kitchens. “Dust Ye Shall Be” contains five distinct elements, and each is formed from spices being layered on to plexiglass or wood platforms that sit neatly on the floor. Associate Professor of Art at Samford University, Stephen Watson, the creator of the work, says that these five separate elements operate as a single experience. 

“Even though there’s multiple pieces to the orchestra, there’s multiple sounds in the room, I think it functions as a harmonious whole,” Watson said.

Nothing holds the spices in place, they simply rest on the stands. Watson says that there are about 10 spices including not only strong aromas of chili powder, cinnamon and curry powder but also subtle aromas such as lavender and sage. According to Watson, one must view the piece in person, since half of the work’s power is wrapped up in its smell. 

“It cannot be experienced in any other way than to go and be in the presence of it,” Watson said. 

The installation processes took about 13 hours of straight work. Associate Professor of Art Brad Adams along with senior Sarah Esther Merry and three other Berry students helped Watson install the piece in the Moon Gallery. Merry found the installation process to be insightful of Watson’s artistic methods.

“It was a really cool experience to be able to watch him as he chose the specific spices that he wanted to go into which piece, and to be able to be a part of having my hands in designing it was really cool,” Merry said. 

Watson came into the gallery with the designs he intended on using, but each piece was created with the space it inhabits in mind. “Dust Ye Shall Be” is a one-of-a-kind experience that may never be created the same exact way ever again, since the previous and not yet made spice pieces will inhabit a different space. Berry students and faculty are witnessing what may be a one-time installation, according to Merry. 

“We may be some of the only people to witness these specific art pieces,” Merry said. 

Unlike other Moon Gallery exhibits, “Dust Ye Shall Be” is installation art, and not only does that create a piece that may never exist again, such as Merry describes it, but it is an experience. Installation art is not an object to be possessed or to look at. It is an experience to participate in during a specific moment. 

“Installation art is art that’s entered into instead of art looked at,” Watson said. 

“Dust Ye Shall Be” is Merry’s first exhibit experience with spice art. She finds it fascinating and beautiful that when she walks into Moon, she can smell the art before seeing it. For Merry, the aroma draws you into the piece and creates many possibilities. 

“Just engaging more of your senses as you are observing the art, I think is a really new way of thinking about what art can be and the potential that it has to pull us into the experience,” Merry said.

Adams is constantly trying to create unique experiences for students to engage with in different ways, and what is more unique than spice art. Also, “Dust Ye Shall Be” offers a point of entry into the piece for students who might be familiar with geometric shapes, but may have never had the opportunity to experience installation art. Adams wants students to be comfortable having those different experiences through art. 

“It’s really about trying to make those experiences for students and saying like this would be engaging and different in different ways,” Adams said. 

Before spices, Watson experimented with different materials constantly, from balloons to gum wrappers. However, about 10 years ago while working on a project with his church, Watson was wrestling with the concept of what it meant to be the aroma of Christ. Instead of trying to paint something that identified as an aroma, Watson was drawn to actual spices. 

“The spices just had so much possibility,” Watson said. “It was just so enthralling, conceptually. I just love that they were beautiful and strange. I saw the potential in it.”

For Watson, these spices served as a physical reminder of a spiritual reality of the aroma that Christians carry with them. He wants the piece to encourage people to think about what they bring into a room with them and how it makes the space better or worse. 

“It becomes like a reflection of how we all influence the spaces that we inhabit,” Watson said. 

The spice art will be broken down and thrown away after the exhibit ends. “Dust Ye Shall Be,” reflects the fragility of the spices and of the temporariness of life. Watson quoted philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer when he said that death is the beginning of all philosophy. Watson said that death makes people want to reorient themselves. 

“‘Dust Ye Shall Be’ is just this reminder that there is the problem of death, the problem of destruction and how do we each face that and reconcile ourselves to it,” Watson said. 

Merry believes that the piece’s temporariness encourages people to appreciate the here and now since it will not last forever. 

“The art itself is a reflection of the beautiful nature of things that are here today and gone tomorrow,” Merry said.