The Great Basin Murders are a loose grouping of homicides spanning the 1970s to 1990s in which the remains of murdered women were found in remote areas of Nevada, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. Most of the cases are still unsolved today. The Wilbur D. May Museum is proud to present a new collaborative art exhibition that seeks to memorialize the victims and bring attention to the cold cases.
Lily Martina Lee creates original weavings using data from each case including height, weight, and age estimates as well as the date and GPS coordinates of when and where each of the unidentified victims were located. While this work is an attempt to broach the anonymity of unidentified human remains through devotional craft, the resulting woven panels remain visually austere illustrating the absence of information that characterizes many cold cases.
The weavings are paired with digital photography by Carrie Quinney. The images document the woven shrouds at the sites where each victim was found. The result is a stylistic bridging of crime scene documentation and landscape photography. These images position the shrouds as bodies, contextualizing the series in art historical movements considering violence against women from Renaissance and Baroque paintings to contemporary site-specific work, all against the backdrop of the ever foreboding, mysterious, and beautiful Western landscape.
What: The Great Basin Murders
When: May 5 – July 11, 2021
Where: Wilbur D. May Museum, Rancho San Rafael Regional Park,1595 N. Sierra Street, Reno
Cost: $6.00 for adults, $4.00 for seniors, $4.00 for children
Contact: (775) 785-5961 or www.maycenter.com
About the Artists
Lily Martina Lee earned a BFA in Fibers and a BA in American Indian Studies from the University of Washington, and an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Oregon. Lee has exhibited her work in the Ukraine, Portugal, Hungary, Italy, and Greece and in numerous exhibitions throughout the United States including Northwest Art Now at the Tacoma Art Museum and the Commuter Biennial in Miami, Florida. She lives and works in Boise, Idaho where she is an Associate Professor of Sculpture at Boise State University. More information at lilymartinalee.com
Carrie Quinney earned a BFA in Visual Art, Photography Emphasis from Boise State University in 2002, and an MFA in Visual Art from Boise State University in 2018. A multimedia artist and photographer, Quinney has exhibited work regionally in the Northwest and currently lives and works in Boise, Idaho. Quinney is an adjunct professor and multimedia coordinator at Boise State University.
About the Wilbur D. May Museum
Located within Rancho San Rafael Regional Park, the Wilbur D. May Center is managed by the Washoe County Community Services Department and continues to receive generous support from the Wilbur May Foundation. Our mission is to preserve the life and legacy of Wilbur D. May through exhibitions and programs that stimulate curiosity in visitors of all ages.
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