A recent work by conceptual artist Erin Cooney.

California artist Erin Cooney will invite the public to explore mortality through her new exhibit “I am Yorick,” on display in the Northern Essex Community College Linda Hummel-Shea ArtSpace on its Haverhill Campus now through February 26. A special artist reception will be held on January 28 from 3:30-5:30 p.m.

The multi-media exhibit will focus on the power of documentation and its capacity to retain what is otherwise lost. Central to the display is a 3D-printed replica of the artist’s skull, created using a digital replication of a medical CT scan. This particular piece, which connotes the infamous skull in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, inspired the exhibit’s title.

In displaying her work, Cooney intends to bring to light the subtle beauty of change.

“I hope to offer the viewer a sense of the underlying beauty that resides even in the chaos of change, when viewed from a perspective of totality,” she says.

A conceptual artist, Erin Cooney resides in California, where she develops works inspired by consciousness studies. She holds a degree in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and a degree in graphic design from the Art Center College of Design. Her works have been displayed in cities ranging from Los Angeles to Melbourne.

The Linda Hummel-Shea ArtSpace is located in the Harold Bentley Library on NECC’s Haverhill campus, 100 Elliott Street. Open hours are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday from 8 to 4:30 p.m.

The exhibit is sponsored by the NECC Art Department and made possible through the generous support of the NECC Foundation, Inc.

NECC offers an associate degree in General Studies: Art. For more information, please contact Patricia Kidney, art & design department chair, at pkidney@necc.mass.edu, or Marc Mannheimer, gallery coordinator, at mmannheimer@necc.mass.edu.