if you weren’t there - (2017)
for the time being: 2017 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art
Art Gallery of Alberta
May 27 – September 10, 2017
Employing coloured gels sourced from film and photography, the phrase “if you weren’t there” oscillates between colour palettes traditionally used to manipulate an emotional response from a viewer. Two sleek modernist chairs are positioned in front of a projection. A vacant chair may be filled by one’s imagination or the physical presence of another, depending on the individual and their personal discretion. An artist book comprised of dual eulogies alludes to the emotional labours expected of cultural practitioners. Together, these gestures position familial labour in correlation, contention, and conversation with artistic labour.
EXHIBITION TEXT: for the time being - Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art (2017)
CO-CURATED BY: Peta Rake & Kristy Trinier
May, 2017
REVIEWS:
Longing and the Edges of Landscape at the Alberta Biennial - for Canadian Art by Merray Gerges
10th Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art - Review for Frieze by Natasha Chaykowski
Art Gallery of Alberta’s 2017 biennial refuses to speak for us all, in the very best way - for the Edmonton Journal by Fish Griwkowsky