DSU’s Arts Center/Gallery in the William Jason Library is currently featuring the senior capstone exhibition of Erica Rae Lokai entitled “Jellyfish Bluem” until Dec. 14.

The exhibition is free and open to the public.

Ms. Lokai is a senior double major in arts management and studio art. Her 35-piece exhibition features her work in creating framed cyanotypes and mixed media paintings.

The senior art major said her work is particularly inspired by the jellyfish species, with its ability to swirl its tentacles, twisting and turning into beautiful shapes or becoming tangled in an angry mess.

“I have always liked everything under the sea, so one day I painted a jellyfish,” Ms. Lokai said. “I realized how much I enjoyed painting them, so I thought, ‘Keep making jellyfish until you’re tired of making them’.”

She hasn’t tired yet. To date, Ms. Lokai has painted, photographed and sculpted at least 100 jellyfish since the first one she completed.

“When jellyfish congregate together in large numbers, it is called a bloom; so for my senior exhibition I have created my own bloom,” she said. “Jellyfish Bluem is a collection of my most recent works; it highlights my love for cyanotypes (which uses the color blue as a common element), mixed media and jellyfish.”

She added that the exhibition has fused an alternative photographic process with painting and mixed media.

A reception in honor of the artist and her work will be held in from 5-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6 in the Arts Center Gallery, which is located inside the front entrance of the William C. Jason Library on campus.