What is the nature of truth? Perhaps the answer has to do with your perspective, especially in an age where relativity theory frames any discussion of scientific truth—the lens through which you examine the world, or, in some cases, the brush. In any case, even just a “brush” with the nature of reality can provide surprising insights.

Advertising images and insects accrete in the works of Linnie Brown to explore the effects of magnification: the visual textures of junk mail, security envelopes, magazine ads, topographic maps and corrugated coffee cups triangulate the relationship of images, materials and the viewer. Liza C. Julien cross-pollinates her photographs with collage and mixed media to explore cairns (manmade rock piles discovered along local mountain trails). Mallory Qualls “paints” with the camera lens, combining photography and Cibachrome prints to create abstracts that hint at the objects they conceal. Whatever these experiments conclude about the world around us, the common denominator is that the equation isn’t complete without the eye.

Man-Made Truth @ Gallery UAF, 230 S. 500 West, Suite 120, 801-322-2428, through April 9, UAF.org