Holding Space
A solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Burlington, Perry Gallery in Ontario, Canada, 2019/2020. The creation of this project was supported by a Visual Arts Grant from the BC Arts Council.
Space is where we live.
We cannot move without space. We cannot breathe without space.
We entangle ourselves with space and the space reshapes us.
Space is what we fill. Space is what we hold. Space is what we leave behind.
We are merged with the spaces around, between and inside of us.
My belief that our humanness is essentially rooted in relational dynamics provides the impetus behind using scale and multiples to create large-scale, multi-component groupings and immersive installations. As this attention to the relational is central to my work, dualities serve as a fulcrum for my practice and allow me to explore particular dyads such as subject/object, seen/unseen, individual/collective, viewer/viewed. Holding Space uses abstraction and expressionism to explore our multi-faceted relationship with space, both physically and philosophically.
This project considers notions of space with 3 assemblages:
STILL POINT
Space as Emptiness. This emptiness can either be experienced as a void, as nothingness, or it can be experienced as unbounded potential; the seed where everything that is new begins. Held in the palm of your hand or inhabiting everything that surrounds, this space holds energy, simultaneously minute and infinite. 1000+ porcelain components define the surface area of 7-foot diameter sphere, dissected in half. Each small component is hung individually with filament from the ceiling, creating a reflective and light buoyancy as the piece undulates in response to movement in the room.
WRITTEN ON THE BODY
Space as Containment. Negative space defines the body of the object where the exterior form acts as skin and bone to contain the enclosed space within, where our internal narratives are held, imprinted by the external world. 40 component wall assemblage, hung in a 22’ horizontal line. Referencing vertebrae, each unglazed porcelain rounded form touches the next with an connecting line of photo transfers.
THE GESTURE OF GRACE
Space as a Conduit. Each sculpture reflects a gesture, responsive to the next form, such as a dance troupe pushing and pulling on the space between each other, as they express the dynamic relationship between movement and space. 11 hand-built, 3’ tall, abstracted figures, standing in a line.