The South Carolina Review

SCR Issue 55.1 Cover Reveal

Huan LaPlante (they/them)

Huan grew up on the beaches of North Carolina with an appreciation for art passed down from their mother and grandmother. They graduated from UNC Asheville in 2018 with a BFA in painting and an Undergraduate Research Award for their solo thesis exhibition, “Historically Apathetic”. After graduating, they spent the next two years as a mentor at a residential treatment center for adolescents, also attending artist residencies at Penland School of Craft and Chateau d’Orquevaux. They are currently pursuing their MFA degree in drawing at Clemson University where their studio research analyzes the impermanence of the self through a queer, Buddhist lens. Previously working solely with watercolor, Huan now experiments with a range of ephemeral materials such as charcoal, repurposed fabrics, and handmade recycled paper. Their works have recently been shown at the 701 Contemporary Center for Art South Carolina Biennial and will show at the AXA Art Prize in New York and Lee Gallery, Clemson University in 2022.

Early on in their graduate research, they were very interested in how the self was formed through childhood development and socialization. Mimic references a photo of their mother and a young Huan. The photo is so simple, yet the mirroring of their poses says a lot about how caretakers shape us. How figures complete one another between the play of positive and negative space speaks to a familial dependency. The red thread that wraps their ankles illustrates the relationship that binds.

Check out more of Huan LaPlante’s work here:

Website: huanlaplante.com

Instagram: @huannieo