spring 1964 - silkscreen
tarot - copper plate etching
the dude - lithograph
means to an end - silkscreen & pochoir
Having grown up in Sherwood Park, Alberta, I passed the local refinery countless times. It was a fact of life for most of my childhood and adolescence; it was always there and I didn’t really think much of it. Now, as a functioning part of my society, I constantly question the government for its decisions on non-renewable energy, and I can’t seem to understand the rationale behind it. Every time I pass the refinery now as an adult, I look at it and think of the many better options we have when concerning sustainable power.
Means to an End is meant to be read top down - to emphasize that we can not begin again until another chapter has been closed.
some thing i learned - artist book
completely handcrafted and constructed; saddlestitch bind and bookboard cover
- upholstered and debossed in gold foil
The concept for some thing i learned. is an homage to my degree as I finished my final semester in Art & Design.
Having majored in art history for half my degree, I spent much of my time with textbooks. As a reflection of my former self and my education, I wanted to mirror this in my book by mimicking the visual feel of an old hardcover textbook. I am still deeply attached to the content I learned and hold great appreciation for the knowledge I gained throughout my years focused solely on art history. This has no doubt shifted my path and as a result was an extremely important period in my life to understanding myself as an artist.
As a result, I created a book to reflect my personal growth from a past portion of my life to my current self. I chose only floral motifs for imagery, to create a visual connection to growth; both the images and text within the book have been found in my personal notes for different art history courses.
Further, this progression of growth begins in the form of heavy text motifs and smaller floral imagery confined by borders to mirror that of an art history textbook. As one progresses through the book, the images are enlarged and the text becomes both visually lighter and smaller as the word count and opacity are reduced per page. This was used to highlight my shift into art & design, as the text fades into the book, and the image outgrows the border that once confined it.
Together these motifs help to express the personal growth throughout my time as a student, while paying respect to an important aspect of my former self. My time spent studying art history is deeply embedded in who I am and has allowed for me to gain a pivotal understanding of the theory behind artistic practices. I believe that this progression has allowed me to grow and learn about myself as an individual and in turn, aided my abilities as a visual artist.
Speculative Energy Futures
Speculative Energy Futures uses arts-based practices to imagine alternative futures, exploring diverse perspectives on the topic of energy transition, to re-imagine futures beyond what we currently understand to be possible.
Through artistic means, Speculative Energy Futures aims to investigate the challenges and potentials of the transition to clean energy. "This Can't Wait" was my contribution to the collaborative workings of SEF and and one of my final projects for my capstone Word & Image course.
This Can't Wait is currently being exhibited in The Square Gallery in St. Gallens University, Switzerland.
