Black, shining butterflies appear to emerge from a frame and scatter along the walls.

Features

New exhibit focuses on empowerment and growth as an aspiring artist

Jorge Aguirre II, Distributor

Nov 2, 2025

Black butterflies line the walls of Anderson Gallery, alongside paint brushes, books and clipboards.

Jill Wells, a 2005 Drake alumna, has begun her opening art installation ceremony, titled “I AM A MULTITUDE” at the Anderson Gallery with the help of Gallery Director Lilah Anderson.

Wells opened the exhibit to the public on Oct. 30. The event featured free refreshments, a live soundscape DJ, and a new art experience for the Drake community. From now until Dec. 19, the exhibit will be open to the public under the dark blue lights of the gallery, showcasing transformation, rewiring and health.

Black butterflies line the walls of Anderson Gallery, alongside paint brushes, books and clipboards. (Jorge Aguirre II)

A visitor of the gallery picks up a book on one of Wells' displays Oct. 30 in Anderson Gallery.

Anderson said that she was proud to host an opening night with Wells, showing new art for the public to relate to. Wells even reached out to Anderson to get the exact dimensions to bring her exhibit to life.

“Jill [Wells] is an alum of our program. It’s like a homecoming to have a large-scale installation of hers in this space,” Anderson said. “The show is very immersive; site-specific, so I think it’s going to have a different feel than typical shows that the general public have seen that’s like two-dimensional work on a wall.”

A visitor of the gallery picks up a book on one of Wells’ displays Oct. 30 in Anderson Gallery. (Jorge Aguirre II)

Wells said she took most of her inspiration for the installation from her brother, who faced an intravenous malformation, causing brain trauma and aneurysms back in 1999. He lost his eyesight and went into an 11-month coma, and then had to restart his life and learn basic functions to regain strength. The curtains, butterflies, clipboards and plants within this exhibit all represent the barriers he overcame to have that freedom back.

“That trauma to the brain is different, and it’s this rewiring to figure out how to function in a different way. For example, that is where the clipboards in the back present a conversation through images of PTSD, brain trauma, brain scans. That’s a piece of the multitude,” Wells said.

Books with no covers lined the walls all being black and a mystery until flipping to a random page to see what it was about, symbolizing not judging someone based on the cover. With subjects ranging from feminism to racial movements, Wells incorporated experiences of what her culture and herself went through into this exhibit. The only book with a cover was by W.E.B. Du Bois at the very back of the exhibit, symbolizing double consciousness.

“In that book, the soul of Black folks is double consciousness. It’s this way people gaze at you, and the way you gaze at people. The brain decides on how it’s going to behave, and within the Black community, that was something at one point you would die for. That affects the brain, and you become a different person,” Wells said. “You have to be someone else who needs you to feel safe, yet you’re not safe. That’s the double consciousness, the veil.”

Twenty clipboards line the walls of the gallery Oct. 30. Upon first glance, the clipboards appear empty. When the viewer gets closer, faint silhouettes appear. (Jorge Aguirre II)

Since this event was open to the community, many alumni came back to visit, just like Wells. Alum Alexandra McGinnis wanted to not only revisit Drake, but also reconnect with an artist she is familiar with.

“It reminded me of a hospital,” McGinnis said. “This is a very famous artist in the Des Moines area, so I’m familiar with her work, but this blue light in the hallways along with the seams of visibility and all the plants outside gave a very hospital feel to it. Kind of a hospital recovery and understanding the purpose of why you heal. I just like how it’s a whole piece and not necessarily like one artwork.”

In the center of the gallery, a basin filled with water and a single chain is surrounded by plants and transparent black fabric Oct. 30 in the Anderson Gallery. (Jorge Aguirre II)

With the help of Jordyn Wyer, the designer of the catalog, Wyer was able to implement all kinds of accessibility, like braille and QR codes for deaf individuals, to physically include everyone.

“The braille was done by the Iowa Department, but I did the photos and text of the catalog. This catalog has many accessibility aspects, and something that I wish we would have thought of for previous catalogs,” Wyer said. “I’m so grateful to have had this opportunity and to work with Jill and Lilah, who are both amazing. I still can’t believe how good it looks.”

Before finding her place in art, Wells correlated her desire to help people as a counsel for the state of Iowa, caring for others as her priority. Though now prioritizing her well-being, Wells still incorporates her past career into her work, caring for others in different strokes.

“What happens is you avoid taking care of yourself when constantly taking care of somebody else,” Wells said. “When I went into art, it allowed me to focus on myself and create work that felt like me, versus a commission for public work. It’s now my own utility.”

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