Review
INFUSION
Runs until June 12
Nickle Arts Museum (U of C)
A praying mantis preparing to go to war, a humongous electric plug and a shrouded life-size figure all star in this year’s exhibition of visual art from the class of graduating bachelor of fine arts students at the University of Calgary.
This annual rite of passage is like an old friend. Sometimes it’s predictable and on other occasions a few surprises crop up. This year’s event, Infusion, falls into the weird and wonderful category with the sheer diversity and range of works on view.
With 42 graduands participating, there is a lot of art here. If you have the time, it would be advisable to take at least an hour – and preferably two – to view all of the pieces, which include photographs, sculptures, drawings, paintings, etchings, multimedia installations, serigraphs and more.
At the entrance to the exhibition is Cheryl Peacock’s Strangers, a rope-encased figure reminiscent of an Egyptian mummy. The sculpture is foreboding in size and stature but also curiously intriguing, as if the rope that binds this mysterious sculpture should be removed to discover its true identity.
Another strange creature lurking at Infusion is Doug McColl’s Soldier Mantis. It’s a giant insect constructed from various household items, including a Hoover vacuum cleaner and old television antennae. The resulting work is a super-sized bug that is readying itself for battle.
"My playful, anthropomorphic work is based on found objects," says McColl. "Using coherent superposition, I see in an object’s structure a new or similar shape and use it to create a new story from its established history."
McColl continues his twisted view of the world by presenting a giant three-pronged electrical plug, entitled The New Hand of Adam. Although not anthropomorphic by definition, it lives up to McColl’s thesis of playfulness as it towers over viewers perplexed by its presence.
The next surprise is the photography of Terri-Lee Sawchuk, whose colour images of toys evoke both sadness and longing for more innocent times. Sawchuk has a mature vision and delivers photographs that make strong statements about the world through something as seemingly innocuous as children’s playthings.
Student art shows can be rambling affairs without any real focus. In the case of Infusion, the curatorial staff at the Nickle Arts Museum has helped this group of students to show off a body of work to its best advantage by filling every nook and cranny of the gallery. The result is by turns quirky, funny, colourful and even poignant, each twist and turn along the way revealing another layer. |
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