archives 2009
JAN 9 - FEB 20
Jennifer Barrett (NL) Werebears and Only Children
Cindy Baker (SK) Personal Appearance
A multi-media installation including painting, sculpture and video projection based on a comic strip, Werebears and Only Children. The paintings from the comic strip are presented in the gallery on scale and at viewing height to sculptural characters of the comic strip itself. These characters then end up critiquing themselves. The sculptural figures are approximately 4 feet tall complete with speech bubbles where video dialogue ensues. Jennifer Barrett is a painter and a printmaker and member of the board of directors of St. Michael's Printshop. She currently works as a commercial screen printer. Her work revolves around the extrapolation of blind contour drawings and the modification of autobiographical comics. She is a big fan of non-traditional comic artists, many of whom deal with personal stories that are often funny, tragic, and simply mundane. Currently she is creating work that brings her comic characters off the printed page and computer screen and into a three-dimensional setting.
With a professional mascot costume of herself, Cindy Baker makes personal appearances as Cindy Baker. This is a project about performing oneself; the performance of expectations based on one's persona. Despite a formal education in painting and printmaking at the University of Alberta, interdisciplinary and performance artist Cindy Baker considers her non-formal training and research in gender culture, queer theory, fat activism and art theory to be as important in her development as a contemporary artist. Working with whatever materials are needed to allow her to concentrate on the theoretical, conceptual and ephemeral aspects of her work, she considers context her primary medium. Having worked and volunteered for several artist-run centres and cultural organizations in Western Canada, Cindy has a particular professional interest in the function of artist-run centres as a breeding ground of deviation.
MAR 06 - APR 17
Juliana Espana Keller (QC), Nina Lassila (Sweden),
Thora Gunarsdottir (Iceland) and Elin Anna Thorisdottir (Iceland) Slippery Terrain
Peter Kingstone (ON) 100 Stories About My Grandmother
Slippery Terrain was brought to life because negotiating artistic territory can be momentous, despite the geographical distance. The [4] female visual artists who are presenting new work in Eastern Edge Gallery in celebration of "International Women's Day" are: Thora Gunnarsdottir (Iceland], Nina Lassila [Finland/Sweden], Elin Anna þórisdóttir [Iceland] and co-ordinator, Juliana Espana Keller [Canada/England]. They are four female visual artists, who utilize and appropriate strategic similarities in order to mirror others, to imitate, to immerse and to become. They use a composite of different media, materials and influences such as video, photography, installation, sound and other media which is why this exhibition is so interesting and varied. Their individual directorial freedom includes research into such interesting subjects such as animal telepathy to animal rights, cartography and human behavioural studies and traditional folklore to contemporary tales of spinning lies and tall stories, all produced by women.
Juliana Espana Keller created this piece whilst she was in-residence in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2006, a work that reflected her connection to this place. In her own practice, she utilizes tools of masking, camouflage and excessive mimicry to act and to become something else, to transform, transpose and reflect on imitation, theatrics and simulation through performance and intervention. This video was filmed in the late hours of the day on the #6 tram that winds its way into the heart of Gothenburg on any given night perhaps with the same weary travelers who always take this tram at the same hour. Using campy costume drama, she got on the tram from the outskirts of Gothenburg's dark periphery, and took her place amongst the night passengers moving with her against the background of urban landscape. She transforms herself into a 'Goth girl' with heavy cosmetic make-up, emphasizing the grotesque, mysterious, and desolate. Passengers kept to themselves in a most civilized fashion no matter how much this transformation caused her persona to transform and stand out while touching on the sublime. Juliana is building a special structure for the presentation of this video as a digital projection. Since the piece was filmed on a moving tram, she has constructed a special support as a floating projection screen to emphasize the movement through time and space.
Nina Lassila's Tele (greek for "far off") -Pets is an ongoing project I've started working with in 2006. The project evolves around the phenomenon of telepathy. The first part focused on telepathy between animals and human beings. At the time being Tele-Pets consists of a video, a webpage, live events, research material and documentation. As the area of the phenomena of telepathy is large the project will dig deeper into i.e telepathy between humans by conducting experiments, performances and interviews.
Thora Gunnarsdottir's Untitled Assembly is a video work that includes an installation of several videos each in its own monitor. Together these videos express fragmentary encounters with moments and memories based on the artist's interaction with the animal world and the concept of image.
Elin Anna Thorisdottir's Penetrating My Idol explores her Identity penetrating her idol, Pippi Longstocking and her feelings in a restraining environment. Pippi Longstocking is a popular fictional character from children stories. The place of Thora and Pippi's intimate meeting is the artist's self-portrait. She admires her heroin for strength and creativity, which in her opinion are symbolized by the girl's hair. The artist expresses her longing for possessing those virtues by depicting herself in her works with two, sticking-out, red braids. Recently, the artist lived in a new environment where she couldn't express or identify herself as usual. She felt suppressed and had a strange longing for dissolving which she expressed by depicting herself wrapped in bandages. Thorisdottir will exhibit paintings, drawings, and a video dealing with her Identity and restrained Self.
MAR 06 - APR 17
Peter Kingstone (ON) 100 Stories About My Grandmother
"My work explores narrative, histories, and the intangible nature of truth. 100 Stories About My Grandmother will use the narratives of male prostitutes to construct a picture of my grandmother, and will thereby deconstruct notions of family and the lives of sex workers. Society tends to see sex workers as destitute, drug addicted, amoral, disease infected, and lower class. Their real voices are seldom heard. They are most likely to come to our attention when they enter the court system, or if well meaning community or church groups attempt to save them from the perceived perils of sex work. 100 Stories About My Grandmother allows the talked-about to talk; gives a voice to those who have been voiceless. In turn, their narratives are used to build my grandmother's story."
MAY 2 - JUN 13
David Carey (MB) The Animals
Mathieu Léger (NB) The WonderBread Project
Craig Francis Power (NL) Inevitable Heartbreak
In this work, David Carey imagines how toy animals would adapt themselves to a domestic setting. How would they establish themselves in this strange environment? Carey has placed each one in a scene that he believes would be naturally appealing to it. "Sheep graze contentedly on my bedroom carpet, giraffes nibble at a plant on the kitchen table, and zebras try to blend in with their habitat. Deer gather nervously in a clearing, and a contemplative lion inspects his mane in the mirror. Distinctive character traits emerge. These fanciful scenes are created with a sense of fun and humour that is inspired by my childhood imagination." Mary Reid, Curator at The Winnipeg Art Gallery continues, "[By] using his domestic space in close up, intimate scale, as a backdrop, Carey's composition of animals at home explores these unsettling tensions. When looking at Carey's "animal/still-lifes" we smile, we see the humour but yet feel unsettled. His cast of characters become metaphors for our own anxieties, problems, issues, joys and celebrations that play out in our private spheres, where our daily life, full of rituals and transgressions are carried out. Although the trace of child-like play is felt, the arrangements are too sophisticated. Carey's animals are observers, judging, hunting our psyche, and opening up possibilities for the unexpected".
In The Wonder Bread Project Mathieu Léger has modeled a variety of animal forms from Wonder Bread™. Inspired by a dinner roll, Léger links current exploration of uranium in New Brunswick to his breaded subjects. "Wheat flour has been listed amongst food items approved for irradiation in Canada," Jennifer Belanger expands, "The irradiation process, which exposes items to radiation in order to kill bacteria and organisms, utilizes Cobalt-60, a nuclear reactor by-product. The reactors themselves are powered by uranium. Léger links the global push for mass agriculture and the new health regulation processes it entails with the realities of an economically strapped province envisioning short term quick cash investments. Wheat = flour = bread. Bread signifies money, work, love, survival and, in a traditional setting, daily ritual. Léger's animal bread sculptures hint at the notion of play while establishing an underlying notion of environmental, economical and political posturing. From the depth of the earth to the food on your table, The WonderBread Project questions the broader impact of uranium mining on future generations"
Experimenting with the rudimentary drawing program Microsoft Paint, Craig Francis Power combines his interest in drawing - its immediate expressiveness - with video installation. Power has constructed what is simply a row of 10 red birdhouses. As unassuming as a suburban neighborhood, inside quiet melodramas ensue, human arguments and desires articulated by humbly drawn birds. Their sharp observations are not dulled despite - at times - their alcoholic tendencies.
JUN 27 - AUG 8
Marcia Huyer What’s up there, anyhow?
The Empire State Building, the Sears Tower, Petronas Twin Towers, Taipei 101 and the Bank of China Tower (Hong Kong) have been rescaled and reformed with silk and then inflated, resulting in some pathetic structures. In What's up there, anyhow?, Marcia Huyer scales down some of the world's tallest structures. Inflated both literally and symbolically these structures once stood as the tallest in the world only to be outdone by their successors. Huyer's structures bend and droop, their material reminiscent of second-rate proms and bridesmaid dresses. Light, playful and just a little bit tragic. Marcia Huyer was born in Barrie, ON in 1976. She studied sculpture at Ontario College of Art and Design (1999). She received her MFA at the University of Victoria (2006). This year Huyer exhibited work at Inter Access Electronic Media Arts Centre and with Ecotecture Canada, both in Toronto. In 2007 she exhibited at the ODD Gallery, Dawson City, Yukon; The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, BC and was a part of CAFKA, Kitchener, ON. Huyer has been working with the medium of inflation since 2003. Huyer currently lives and works in Toronto.
SEPT 5 - OCT 17
Will Gill (NL) Cape Spear
Stephen Kelly (NS) Open Tuning (Wave Up)
Cape Spear, a hauntingly beautiful new video work by local artist Will Gill and Open Tuning (Wave Up) a kinetic sound installation that translocates a remote ocean environment, in real time to the gallery space. Both exhibitions explore the sea, an enduring muse, reaching new and mysterious depths through sound and video. Interested in the permeable boundary between land and sea, ice that comes to rest after a long journey or the abrupt end of a firey branch when launched into the same waters.
Will Gill, in his video Cape Spear, poetically releases translucent fiberglass orbs into the Atlantic watching their short life and slow demise from the shoreline. Will Gill lives and works as an artist in St John's. His work has been longlisted for the Sobey Award in 2004 and 2006 and is in many public and private collections. He is represented by Peak Gallery in Toronto and Christina Parker gallery in St John's.
Open Tuning uses speakers connected via the Internet to Fisheries and Oceans Canada wave data buoys in order to translate data into motion and sound. Ocean waves become sound waves. Stephen Kelly lives and works in Halifax, NS. He is interested in intersections between audio art and music, while creating kinetic, viewer responsive audio exhibitions and several unique musical instruments. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. As a musician, he approaches audio recording as a creative process and has recorded, produced, and released numerous albums. His most resent musical project, in collaboration with Eleanor King, is The Just Barelys. Stephen has a BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design and has studied computer science at Dalhousie University.
OCT 31 - DEC 12
Time After Timeline Annual Members Exhibition
Celebrating 25 years of artist-run culture on the Edge...
Twenty-five artists from the past and over twenty-five artists from the present. Eastern Edge Gallery presents its first quarterly report with a special Members Exhibition featuring a visual time-line of uncovered treasures from the darkest depths of storage areas to the public archives. For the first time in its history a comprehensive look at all things Edgy: found ephemera, collected stories from the membership, and a full administrative history is featured in this dynamic installation.
ARTISTS
Iakov Afanassiev, Jennifer Barrett, Natalie Beausoleil, Greg Bennett, Mark Bennett, Mark Benson, Margaret Best, Tara Bryan, Michelle Bush, Debbie Collingwood, Marlene Creates, Chrissy Dicks, Donnalee Downe, Cathy Driedzic, Peter Drysdale, Cathia Finkel, Michael Flaherty, Will Gill, Michael Gough, Pam Hall, Jim Hansen, Sarah Hillock, Terrance Hounsell, David Kaarsemaker, Monica Kidd, Patrick Kennedy, Kathleen Knowling, Marilyn Koop, Deb Kuzyk, Josh Lepawsky, Bonnie Leyton, Mary MacDonald, Ray Mackie, Annette Manning, Erin McArthur, John McDonald, Carolyn Morgan, Evelyn Peyton, Julia Pickard, Craig Francis Power, Undrea Norris Norris, Toby Rabinowitz, Heather Reeves
Jacob Rolfe, Jerry Ropson, Bela Simo, Anita Singh, Mitzi Pappas Smyth, Ginok Song, Louise Sutton, David Tuck, Lisa Wakeham, Snowden Walters, Jessica Waterman, Peter Wilkins, Elizabeth Williams, June Walker-Wilson, Krissy Worthman
Pictures of our Present
Pictures from our Past
1987 - Eastern Edge renovations underway at 22 Flavin Street 1987. Pictured left to right, Heather Moore, Susan Wood, Sharon Puddister, Don Wherry, Marylin Koop, Di Dabinett.
1994 - Outside of Eastern Edge Gallery. Pictured the famous moose, who went missing a number of years later. The moose was an icon of Eastern Edge for years, and could be found on newsletters and other publications.
2008 - St. John's Christmas Parade, Eastern Edge dressed up as Visual Art Superheros! Pictured here is Leif, one of our Katimavik volunteers in 2008.
