Archived Exhibits: Turning the Tap - Reflections on Water
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Turning the Tap - Reflections on Water |
Water is a powerful and magical substance, partly because of what it can do and what it represents. It is the only liquid that expands when it solidifies, allowing it to float as a solid and giving it the power to break other solids apart. It separates and moves other materials around as a ‘universal solvent.’ It reflects sunlight as a solid but stores and can transport heat as a liquid, with predictable impacts on local weather conditions and the global climate. And it is always in, around, and moving through us.
As individuals and groups, we depend on water as much as we depend on oxygen, sunlight, shelter, food, and community. We respond instinctively when there is too much, watching floods or torrential rains with a sense of awe and sometimes fear. We also act when supplies are low, reaching for a drink or changing the course of a river to meet our needs. For these and other reasons, water has a special place in human cultures as ‘the elixir of life’ and more recently as ‘liquid gold.’ This exhibit looks at how much water we have to work with globally and in Saskatchewan, and how societies use and sometimes abuse it.
Untitled Zenga #6 - Lee Henderson (2003)
Medium: 8:00 video loop, colour, stereoArtist Statement:
An expression of one's understanding of Zen, the zenga is used as a model for this video work. Rain collects on a car windshield, only to be wiped away and then replaced; it acts as an exploration of the perceived dualities between nature and technology, and existence and non-existence. Lee Henderson is a media-based artist from Saskatchewan. He has studied art in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Germany, and with talented professionals including Maria Vedder and Brian Eno.
His work has been exhibited in Canada, Germany, the UK and the US, and he has worked at Canadian Artist-Run Centres EMMEDIA and Neutral Ground, and at the MacKenzie Art Gallery. Since completing his MFA in Intermedia, he has been furthering his time-and lens-based artistic practice while teaching art at the University of Regina. Currently, his installations, videos and performances revolve around investigations of impermanence and mortality, philosophy and Buddhist symbol from within the framework of Western culture and media. |
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Water Body - Wendy Peart (2007)
Artist Statement:
When asked to consider “water” for this project, I gravitated towards the physical body's fundamental relationship with water. Water constitutes such a large proportion of our bodies and is an essential element in all life forms. Hence, my work resulted in biological objects reminiscent of organs, glands, veins, vessels and other containers of watery bodily fluids. Liquid, visceral and hot, “slumped” glass is independent yet somewhat predictable. It reminded me of water in its tendency to be drawn to itself (cohesion) and ability to contain air in a bubble (surface tension). Just like molten glass, water itself is illusory, ever changing, ever moving, defiant and powerful. Through this installation, I contemplate the importance of water as a fundamental “medium” in our organs, tissues, and cells. It keeps us flexible, supple, nourished and cleansed. With a deeper reverence for this quintessential resource, we might become more tangibly connected to our world and more responsive to its intricate systems.
Wendy Peart works in the areas of sculpture, drawing, painting and installation. She completed a BFA in Visual Art and a BA in Art History from the University of Regina as well as a MFA (1995) from the University of Victoria. She has exhibited regionally and nationally at venues such as The Art Gallery of Regina, Neutral Ground, Dunlop Art Gallery (Regina, SK), Art Gallery of the South Okanagan (Penticton, BC) and Open Space Art Society (Victoria, BC). |
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Peart teaches art and professional development for the University of Regina, the Regina Public School Division, Regina’s civic art centre, and CARFAC Saskatchewan Visual Artists. Stemming from interests pertaining to the body, familial unity, and the domestic space, her recent projects scrutinize the complex intersections between nature and human activity. The artist gratefully acknowledges the generous help and expertise of Jacquie Berting as well as support from the Saskatchewan Arts Board.
Water Unltd? - Evan Tyler (2007)
Artist Statement:
This installation invites the viewer to participate in meditation and contemplation. The act of meditation offers a sense of tranquility and the potential for greater self-awareness. It is my goal to transform a portion of the museum space into an experiential source of meditation, with simple, clean, sharp and comfortable presence built into the relationship of the physical properties of the work, and the internal response to the space.
Click here to download the complete Artist Statement.
Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Evan Tyler became interested in graffiti and street art at a young age. He was active in the Regina graffiti scene, challenging mainstream graffiti trends, imagery, and working to provide a space for graffiti artists to practice legally. The Intermedia program in the Fine Arts Department at the University of Regina honed his visual, performance and audio practice. His work uses a variety of media including video,
sound, photography, sculpture and drawing. His work explores modern interpretations of meditation, mass culture, and the perceptions of technology versus nature. It investigates the changing urban skyline, the impermanent nature of physical landmarks, and the brilliantly mundane aspects of prairie life. |
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Overwhelmed Lake Wolf - David Garneau (2007)
Artist Statement:
“Overwhelmed Lake Wolf” is a painting of a Northern Pike (Jack) swimming through a congested environment. I grew up hearing these fish called ‘lake wolves’ for their voracious appetites. Lately, I have seen quite a few of these predators washing up on shore in late summer. I assume it is due to the increase of algae and depletion of oxygen as a result of global warming, or perhaps phosphates or other chemicals draining into the water systems. The dots or ‘beads’ in paintings in this series refer to any human intervention into the landscape. In this case, the impact is deadly.
David Garneau is Associate Professor of Visual Arts at the University of Regina . He has a BFA in Painting and Drawing, and an MA in American Literature, both from the University of Calgary . He was born and raised in Edmonton , schooled and taught in Calgary (ACAD), and has been living in Regina since 1999. |
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David Garneau's practice includes painting, drawing, curation, and critical writing. His solo exhibition, “Cowboys and Indians (and Métis?)” toured Canada (2003-7). His work often engages issues of nature, perception, history, masculinities and the negotiation of Settler and Métis identities. He has curated two large group exhibitions in Calgary , “The End of the World (as we know it)” and “Picture Windows: New Abstraction,” and four in Regina , “Transcendent Squares,” “Sophisticated Folk,” and “Contested Histories” for the Art Gallery of Regina, and “Making it Like a Man,” for the Mackenzie Art Gallery. He is currently exploring the Carlton Trail, making “beaded” landscapes and painting road-kill.
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