Coastal Carolina University professor and gallery director/artist Cynthia Farnell will create a site-specific photographic installation titled "Presence (Charleston)" at the Notso Hostel in historic Charleston from Friday, Aug. 29 to Monday, Sept. 1. An opening reception with the artist will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Aug. 29; the event is free and open to the public.

The installation will be open to the public from 2 to 10 p.m. daily from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1.

Farnell, who is director of Coastal's Rebecca Randall Bryan Art Gallery and assistant professor of visual arts, has selected archival images of late 19th and early 20th century Charleston and its environs from the Library of Congress. The images form the basis for collaged photographic murals applied directly to the walls by means of a transfer process. The artist describes the visual result of the process as "analogous to the eroded frescoes of ancient Pompeii."

"The project is a way for me to connect with my community through its photographic history and architecture," says Farnell. She has exhibited her work nationally and abroad. She lives and works in Conway.

"Presence (Charleston)" is supported by a Quarterly Projects Grant funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission, The National Endowment for the Arts, and The John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund of the Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina.

For more information, contact Cynthia Farnell at (401) 952 -3206 or cynthiafarnell@mac.com or visit Farnell's Web site: http://web.mac.com/cynthiafarnell.