Dan Cameron on “Optimism Reigns and Rains” , 2005

Forest mushrooms and light-emitting diodes do not, as a rule, occupy the same plane of existence. We like to keep nature in a separate compartment a safe distance away from technology, which is what makes Marilla Palmer’s new works a bit disconcerting at first glance. Her mobiles and wall sculptures, which might contain beads, bits of plastic, tree fungus and decorative letters, all come with their own lighting systems, which change hues at varying speeds, changing each separate work into a shifting, shimmering pool of impressions. The ambiguous color photographs she makes of their details, adorned with impressions made from mushroom pollen, address a missing space between image and color. Never quite abandoning her roots in painting, Palmer has concocted a rich visual experience with a divided bloodline: long forgotten nights in clubs, followed by long daytime walks in the woods.