Fall 2019 @ UoGuelph
An understated beginning to my explorations of flatness and rickety forms of sculpture. These series of works were presented at the end of year critique for the fall semester during my second year at the University of Guelph. This was the last end of term critique I could be part of due to the impending COVID-19 pandemic.
NAC’s Sonic Glow series pairs musicians with visual artists to examine the relationships between sight and sound. As Castle performs, the artists will create new work inspired by what they’re hearing.
“I like that there’s an attempt to create a more immersive experience for people that come out, and I think it’s a good way of holding the space for everybody in it.”
Jennifer Castle
Niagara Is For Lovers (N.F. Souvenir Series)
Permanent Vacation
3D printed form, resin, acrylic medium, glass beads
2019
Edition of 40
For over 200 years, Niagara Falls has been the most popular destination for lovers around the world! From honeymooners, elopers, to dramatic proposals, this city has become the perfect landscape for love.
These iconic heart-shaped jacuzzis are a part of the luxury and romance couples seek on their dream getaways. An idyllic romantic stay for some might look like a hotel bed draped in rose petals, a bottle of champagne cooling next to a platter of chocolate covered strawberries. A romantic stay in Niagara Falls is not complete without the kitsch charm of a heart-shaped jacuzzi.
The Great Gorge (N.F. Souvenir Series)
Permanent Vacation
Illustration on felt pennant
2019
Edition of 50
Tourists flock from all over the world to take in the spectacle that is Niagara Falls. For many locals and visitors who want to experience the splendor of the Niagara River without the chaos of the city’s tourist attractions and distractions, the Great Gorge offers them an escape from the din.
This pennant celebrates the natural spaces of Niagara that make locals incredibly proud. Hang this flag in support of conserving a part of what makes this region unique.
*FUN FACT*
The Niagara river gorge corridor annually supports the migration of the largest and most diverse population of gulls in the world!
Local Sights (N.F. Souvenir Series)
Permanent Vacation
Analog Photograph on Postcard
2019
Edition of 30
Local Sights is a collaborative project between art collective Permanent Vacation and four people local to Niagara Falls. These locals were given cameras and tasked with capturing a perspective of what represents their city. The eight postcards enclosed capture both familiar and unfamiliar places, revealing what it is that appeals to residents about their home.
Participants: Joshua + Felix Abcede (J-OH), Emily Andrews, Corina Komaromi, Simon Mazi-Keep
Queen Of The Mist (N.F. Souvenir Series)
Permanent Vacation
Illustration on Enamel Pin ?
2019
Edition of 50
Annie Edson Taylor (October 24, 1838 – April 29, 1921) was an American schoolteacher who, on her 63rd birthday, October 24, 1901, became the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Annie Edson Taylor became moderately famous due to her stunt for a brief time but the fortune she sought always eluded her.
Annie Edson Taylor lost most of her fortune hiring of private detectives to find her barrel after her manager disappeared with it. In the years after her adventuresome feat, Taylor managed to make a decent living by posing for photographs. Today, references to Annie Edson Taylor’s legacy can be found in various poems, music and television shows.
The Last Whale (N.F. Souvenir Series)
Permanent Vacation
Analog photograph + found digital image on mug
2019
Edition of 50
Marineland is an amusement park and zoo that was established in 1961 in Niagara Falls, Canada. They are known for their exhibits of dolphins, whales, walruses, sea lions, bears and other animals.
In June 2019 a bill was passed by the Parliament of Canada referred to as Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act (Bill S203). With the passing of Bill S203 it was proven that Canadian’s attitudes towards whale captivity have changed. Making it a criminal offence to keep and breed cetaceans (Whales, Dolphins, Porpoises) in captivity. This act carries exceptions for persons who currently care for cetaceans, they may keep custody of them until they pass but can not take in another.
This mug is a reminder of Kiska and other captive animals, that their isolation is in exchange for our entertainment. Swimming by herself Kiska is separated from her children, and kept halfway around the world from her pod, she will be swimming laps in solitude until she dies. The only alternative is for Kiska to be relocated to a whale sanctuary.
All proceeds from this souvenir will be donated to the Whale Sanctuary Project. For more information about their cause, check out their website: https://whalesanctuaryproject.org/
Graphic design by Codey Thompson
Permanent Vacation is Katie Mazi, Jenn Judson, Matt Caldwell, Ben Mosher, Alex Muresan, and an elusive six member.
Cognizance
A distinguishing mark or emblem.
Knowledge or awareness.
Notice or acknowledgement
What does it mean to be distinguished by a feature or mark? How do we recognize what it is we see, is it through our own knowledge, or an awareness of others? Thus, what is it that we notice and what part of that do we fully acknowledge?
These questions are not unique, but timeless. They are driven by our simultaneous advances and retreats to address and understand where it is we find ourselves; our political, environmental, financial, historical, and social surroundings. The complex evolving network of perception, meaning, and ideas.
As such, Cognizance presents a selection of works that seek to simulate the viewer into an active dialogue. A response to the challenge of these questions, not only within themselves, but also between one and another, creating a site for the exchange of these perceptions, meanings, and ideas.
Cognizance is an exhibition showcasing the talents of current candidates of the Guelph MFA program. Ranked as one of the best MFA programs in the country, Guelph has produced a number of the most successful emerging artists working in Canada today. Current and former graduates of the program are now represented all over Canada, as well as the United States and Europe. They have also had notable award success, being included as finalists, and winners, in the RBC painting prize, Scotiabank Photography award, BMO Art award, and the Sobey Art award. Moreover, their works are held in a number of high profile public and private collections.
We at Birch Contemporary are delighted to be able to present these artists in their first collective group show in Toronto.
Cognizance is curated by Ross Lalani-Jennings. Ross holds an MA in Art History from the University of Guelph (2019), as well as an MA in Culture Criticism and Curation, from Central Saint Martins College of Art (2014).
Basil AlZeri:
Aidan Cowling:
Sarah Davidson: @triceradee
Azadeh Elmizadeh: @azadehelmizadeh
Cassandra Ferguson: @cassandraferg
Jackson Klie: @jackson.klie
Deirdre McAdams: @deirdreseesthis
Alexine McLeod: @allymmcleod
Jose Mora: @hailing.frequencies
Emily Moriarty: @emily.moriarty
Caroline Mousseau: @caromousseau
Laurence Pilon: @laurence_pilon
Xiao Xue: @xiaonomiddlenamexue
Opening conversation from us to the trees, we open the doors to reciprocity. Sending our thoughts to our companion species we build up relationships, acknowledging the importance of the work trees do for us and for other forms of life. Adapting to this attitude inspires respect, which is especially important not only in Kings County but Nova Scotia as a whole.
Our province is harvesting acres of trees and brush to use as biomass, burning them for short term economic benefit and bulk inefficient energy. Prefacing pathways of friendship with understanding of our forests leads to a more harmonious, mutually rewarding relationship with our land. Slowing down and communicating with our local trees helps us to see the trees, not as inert firewood, but as living beings too. While we have always had a relationship to the land, it is through this project I hope that we can build a lasting friendship with the land as well.
Us human observers have been looking to the skies, plotting and imagining realms above us, far beyond our planet bound experience. In the 90’s, Edward Morgan of MIT took data of the X-rays from black hole GRS 1915+105, and translated it to audio signals. This was the first time we could imagine the force exerted on space around the black hole. Artist Ben Mosher took this data and auto-tuned it to form a cosmological choir of black holes. As we continue to get to know our cosmological neighbourhood we interpret and reinterpret vast amounts of data into manageable and wonderful imaginings, this interpretations help us begin to gasp the vastness of the universe.
STUCK TOGETHER
Group Show brought to you by
THE PEPSI GIRLS!
Friday 15 March 7PM
Dennis Tourbin Members Gallery at NAC
The Pepsi Girls have joined forces with their friends to bring you yet ANOTHER wild and whacky show at the Niagara Artists Centre! Please join us for the opening reception of STUCK TOGETHER: a collage showcase that highlights the best and brightest collage artists in the Niagara region!!
As always, the show will have food, drinks, friends, art, and perhaps a thing or two to purchase! Bring your mom, bring your friends, or bring a celebrity to win a prize! This is going to be the most interactive, most fun show YET! Be there or be square bbz!
Blackhole Choir is a sound collage that was preloaded onto an iPod Nano with headphones. I sampled the data taken from black hole GRS 1915+105 in the 90’s by Edward Morgan of MIT. The samples were pitch bent to conform to compose a section of an old hymn. You can sample the track below.
