Visual Art

A World of Imagination, Nature

UWEC photography prof puts together dreamy, lush show

Eric Christenson, photos by Andrea Paulseth |

Wanrudee Buranakorn displays a piece from her show “From The Secret World”
Wanrudee Buranakorn displays a piece from her show “From The Secret World”

Wanrudee Buranakorn remembers her time in northeast Georgia on a recent artistic residency fondly. Specifically, she relished being ensconced in the nature, woods, and water of the Blue Ridge Mountains, overcome with solitude. For her new show, “From The Secret World” – on display at Eau Claire’s L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library Oct. 18 through Nov. 22 – Buranakorn compiled a collection of photos she took during her residency. “I was really taken on a journey into an ethereal world of ivy patches and misty rains,” said Buranakorn, an associate professor of photography at UW-Eau Claire. “I could walk a trail and wind up at the swimming hole. In South Carolina, I bathed in a waterfall everyday.” She felt really connected to the area, so upon her return to Eau Claire she would channel her reminiscence and mix it with other experiences of her own. She put short snippets of text on top of the photos, adding some real-life complexity to her “faeryland.” The experimental exhibition – one of three solo shows she’s mounted this year – features more than two dozen pieces, and Buranakorn said she hopes to transport viewers to her state of mind in the solitude of those misty woodlands. You can take the journey during the library’s regular hours.