here is the statement for the work in the exhibition. pictures will be posted after the opening. there are three new pieces, and one re-contextualized piece. and so:
My work explores the interaction between images and text, and the [changing] interpretations that occur as one discovers and explores those connections. The connections between the objects soon begin to be about the connections between viewer and object, an ultimately between the viewer and everything they bring to that conversation. As such, the work is insistent that the viewer or reader does some of the heavy lifting of interpretation.
In your thoughts, like stars I wanted to explore the tensions between more mundane, earthly concerns and more ethereal, cosmological themes; and to use light and vision as primary ideas for that exploration. The way in which the viewer engages with the work is part of how it gains meaning, and that interactivity is an important part of the work. The theme of vision and [self] perception – what we see, and how we see it – is a primary idea for the exhibition, as is the symbolic use of light. And sand. And books/ text.
the weight of things: 100 cosmological images (nebulas, stars, galaxies) are combined with texts that are variously entreaties, accusations, questions or demands. I want the viewer to consider their role and responsibility in the context of their lives and, yes, the universe.
recipes for kneeling (version 2): The books, placed at a height that requires a specific posture for engaging with them, promise some sort of story. That posture, in turn, creates a more directed way of interpreting the images and text (not to mention the object itself).
(the space between): A book, sand and light. What more needs be said?
[NAME THIS]: This interactive piece invites the viewer to share a personal and specific memory in response to several colours. The colours – red, green and blue – are the primary printing colours and, in a very real way, shape our vision. Memory too is a type of seeing, though an internal one.
I would like you to pay attention. To make connections. To engage in a conversation.
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The artist would like to invite you to contribute used books to further projects. In particular: Condensed Reader's Digests, Harlequin romances (small softcovers), Audubon's 102 Favorite Birds of North America, old bibles, books about icons/ mediaeval manuscripts. In general: Art books, encyclopedias, Dover publications, atlases and maps, anything with lovely old woodcut images - the older, the better.
Images are courtesy of NASA and ESA/Hubble (images are released as per Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported licence). Please note that said use does not connote an endorsement by either NASA or ESA/Hubble.
I would like to thank Darryl Wurst of Bow Valley Basics Canmore, who sponsored some of the weight of things’ printing costs.
Finally, I would like to thank my gracious and wonderful wife, Lisa, and my two always entertaining and curious boys, Aden and Samuel, for their encouragement and love.
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Where there is no vision, the people perish. Proverbs 29:18 (King James Version)
I don't deny that there should be priests to remind men that they will one day die. I only say it is necessary to have another kind of priests, called poets, to remind men that they are not dead yet. - G. K. Chesterton
hope to see you there! and if not there, commenting here once pictures are posted...
