Brad Necyk has been pondering an alternate reality where something is absent from Earth: what would the world be like without humans.
“This series, to me, is very much an experiment. I’m doing a lot of writing, probably more than visual work. That’s why it’s so experimental: I’m just trying to figure out how do I start to visually research this complex area.”
The video and photo exhibit features numerous samples from film and TV shows where he has removed the people or altered them in some way. He also used software to layer some scenes over top of each other, providing a disconcerting, ominous and jarring quality.
“They ended up being kind of cool. I was editing out every single moment where there was a human present and seeing what kind of movie exists after that.”
A large part of the experimental nature of this show is Necyk’s focus on the theme of radioactivity.
“Thinking of radioactivity as not always something physical, but something virtual, viscous, temporal and with dimension, providing lines of flight, strategies and tactics for engaging in the contemporary,” he writes in his artist’s statement, as published on the gallery’s website at www.drawingroomedmonton.com.
“Radioactivity stretches from cosmic radioactive background, to the fine coating of radioactive material left from Trinity to Fukushima, to the Potassium-40 that I have just ingested from my banana snack, which has flung alpha and beta particles at my DNA maybe missing or maybe knocking one of my letters out of place. It is the activity in radioactivity, the characteristic of an object for decay and rearrangement in all its spontaneity and instability that makes it a tactical tool for examining cultural output.”
Thinking After the World is on display at the Drawing Room, 10253 97th St. in Edmonton. A reception will be held at 8 p.m. on Thurs., March 19. The artist will be in attendance.
The exhibition runs until March 27.
Admission is by $5 donation (or pay what you can). All proceeds go to the artist.
Visit www.bradnecyk.com to learn more about the artist.
Artist Doris Charest has dedicated a considerable portion of the last few years developing a considerable exhibit, and it’s all set to premiere today.
“It’s an exploration of ideas of how people define themselves by their history and things they’ve done, or their family history,” she said, detailing the concept behind Our History, Ourselves.
“I did interview some people and talked about their history, just to help me get ideas and vary from my own history, I guess. Usually we start with our own history but I wanted a little more variety than that.”
The display of mixed media works show generic figures in enigmatic and symbolic layered compositional landscapes.
“It’s a layering of images and ideas,” she continued. “I thought this style was perfect for this because we are more than we see on the surface. We are many people in one. There’s many facets to a person.”
The show is a large representation of the artist’s body of work, featuring 49 pieces.
“I think I’m done with this theme,” she laughed.
Galerie PAVA is located at 9524 87th St. in Edmonton. Our History, Ourselves opens today and runs until April 28. An opening reception takes place today from 1 to 4 p.m.
Call 780-461-3427 or visit www.savacava.com for more information. Visit www.dorischarest.com to learn more about the artist.
Len Simpson is still a relatively new name to the Visual Arts Studio Gallery. His solo show of digital photographic works just opened should help to change all that.
“It varies. Some of his older work was just very straight ahead, fairly large format, highly detailed landscape images, but now he’s also working with fairly abstract compositions with contrasting kinds of corn paper,” commented VASA spokesman Miles Constable.
“He really moves it. There’s multiple exposures what appear to be landscapes taken out of a bumpy, moving car. He’s getting much more experimental with his digital photography.”
Light Quest by Len Simpson will run until March 27. An opening reception will be held this afternoon from 1 to 4 p.m. The artist will be in attendance.
VASA Gallery is located at 25 Sir Winston Churchill Ave. Call 780-460-5990 or visit www.vasa-art.com for more information.
