If you have not discovered the Strange Maine blog by now, then you are missing out on some good stuff. If you thought my appetite for zombies was big, theirs is greater.
There also are the many tales of suspense and mystery about this state that you may have never known.

Strange Maine's Michelle Souliere takes us on another journey, this time on a different spin on a Maine icon.

Tired of the same old salty schmaltz being served up as lighthouse art? Then you might want to look at the current offerings in Sanctuary's art gallery, at the top of Forest Avenue. I stopped in over the July 4th weekend to take in the view at their "You Light Up My Life" show. From lighthouse underwear and t-shirts, to strange assemblages, to epic multi-layer paintings, to remote controlled battle lighthouses, this show has it all.

The stated object was to produce "a group show of really crazy, wacky, totally screw-ball lighthouse art," and one of the express stipulations put in place by curator Chris Dingwell was that the art had to be non-traditional in some way. Part of customary lighthouse symbolism is its role as the light in the dark, and a port in the storm, but in many cases it also stands as a warning against disastrous terrain nearby. Several artists took it upon themselves to bring this element a little closer to home.

Chris Dingwell's Krivolshlyapova; Masha, Dasha installs Siamese twins at the scene of an explosive encounter between a dirigible and a cheery red and white lighthouse station. Joseph Schmalke's Tarot Card Sixteen inserts a lighthouse in place of the more traditional sixteenth card, The Tower, known by fortune readers as being second only to the Death card and The Devil in causing tarot reading recipients the most terror and unease. Loren Leahy brings the "Kaboom!" home by unleashing the dark potential of the lighthouse, as her version lays waste to a complacent yacht with a shooting out of flames.

More treasures await you than these, however. Swampy sea monsters play tourist, giant pink members don obligatory lighthouse trappings on their respective promontories, and to top it all off, Chad Anderson has even constructed an assemblage that looks like it was designed to tune in to the waves of lighthouse love that consume Mainers and those from away, drawing them back to our shores over and over again. That may explain why I've been to see the show three times now, like a moth to a flame.

To see the light for yourself, go to Sanctuary Tattoo and Art Gallery, 31 Forest Avenue in Portland, Maine. FMI: (207) 828-8866 or e-mail chris@sanctuarytattoo.com

The show remains available for viewing through July 30th. Hours at the gallery are 11:00am 'til 7:00pm, Tuesday through Saturday.

To read more of Michelle's work or other posts on cemetery tours, Portland's ghosts and other oddities, head on over to the blog.

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