OPEN OCTOBER 2, 2025
Exhibition Statement
This exhibition emerges from research into the archives of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, an early 20th century research project to map the variations of Earth’s magnetic field. In 1905, the Department requisitioned a wooden trade vessel called the Galilee, originally used to sail supplies to Fiji, and stripped all iron from the ship to avoid magnetic interference while taking measurements at sea. In addition to the Galilee, the Department assembled terrestrial expeditions across colonial landscapes with specialized magnetic survey equipment.
Situated within the exhibition are large-scale drawings and sculptures extrapolated from materials found within the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism archives. Hand-drawn maps depict magnetic phenomena recorded during the expeditions but appear suspiciously similar to charts of political spheres of influence, or extractive flows of matter and people across borders. Magnetic survey equipment within the exhibition has been stripped of function, abandoned, and left as monument to scientific pursuit of objectivity.
This exhibition is an attempt to translate archival research to question how pursuit of scientific objectivity can obscure uneven relationships of power. These drawings and sculptures navigate connections between historical systems of mapping, territorial control, and contemporary global politics, considering how these structures continue to influence the present. More information about Michael Webster’s work can be found on his website:
https://www.michaelwebsterstudio.com/
This project is supported in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Art and the NC Arts Council. Additional support comes from the department of Art & Art History and the office of High Impact Practices at UNCW.
ARTIST BIO
Michael Webster focuses on the social organization of space through site-specific projects, sculpture, and installation. His work is context-driven and materially attuned, investigating the effects of power on social geography with a focus on long-term participatory projects rooted in the southern United States. He has participated in residencies at McColl Center, ChaNorth, Hambidge Center, Elsewhere Living Museum, and Penland School of Craft. He was the runner-up for the 2023 South Arts Southern Prize and was the recipient of the South Carolina State Fellowship. Michael has held solo exhibitions at Locust Projects in Miami, Neue Welt in Nashville, and the Liv Lab Project Space at Western Carolina University. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from East Carolina University and a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Currently, he is a member of Tiger Strikes Asteroid GVL and an Associate Professor at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Exhibition Statement
This exhibition emerges from research into the archives of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, an early 20th century research project to map the variations of Earth’s magnetic field. In 1905, the Department requisitioned a wooden trade vessel called the Galilee, originally used to sail supplies to Fiji, and stripped all iron from the ship to avoid magnetic interference while taking measurements at sea. In addition to the Galilee, the Department assembled terrestrial expeditions across colonial landscapes with specialized magnetic survey equipment.
Situated within the exhibition are large-scale drawings and sculptures extrapolated from materials found within the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism archives. Hand-drawn maps depict magnetic phenomena recorded during the expeditions but appear suspiciously similar to charts of political spheres of influence, or extractive flows of matter and people across borders. Magnetic survey equipment within the exhibition has been stripped of function, abandoned, and left as monument to scientific pursuit of objectivity.
This exhibition is an attempt to translate archival research to question how pursuit of scientific objectivity can obscure uneven relationships of power. These drawings and sculptures navigate connections between historical systems of mapping, territorial control, and contemporary global politics, considering how these structures continue to influence the present. More information about Michael Webster’s work can be found on his website:
https://www.michaelwebsterstudio.com/
This project is supported in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Art and the NC Arts Council. Additional support comes from the department of Art & Art History and the office of High Impact Practices at UNCW.
ARTIST BIO
Michael Webster focuses on the social organization of space through site-specific projects, sculpture, and installation. His work is context-driven and materially attuned, investigating the effects of power on social geography with a focus on long-term participatory projects rooted in the southern United States. He has participated in residencies at McColl Center, ChaNorth, Hambidge Center, Elsewhere Living Museum, and Penland School of Craft. He was the runner-up for the 2023 South Arts Southern Prize and was the recipient of the South Carolina State Fellowship. Michael has held solo exhibitions at Locust Projects in Miami, Neue Welt in Nashville, and the Liv Lab Project Space at Western Carolina University. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from East Carolina University and a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Currently, he is a member of Tiger Strikes Asteroid GVL and an Associate Professor at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Photos by James Farley