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february 24 ­ april 7 2007 the latcham gallery laura hair holly mcclellan ruth read margaret rodgers janice taylor-prebble sally thurlow wendy wallace

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reserved for cip

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by wendy wallace exhibition organizer f lu i d foreword our thoughts like water flow down different tributaries converging into a large pool the collective consciousness reinforcing the semblance of our sense of being and place in november 2004 iris members discussed the existence of common artistic currents in december i presented the idea of fluidity in the work of the collective to curator maura broadhurst and the fluid project began.

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by maralynn cherry fluid within a fluid space what can transpire the physical nature of `fluid becomes a metaphor for the diverse yet related works of seven female artists from durham region their process reflects a sensitive dialogue encompassing ideal form in physics and morphology environmental awareness anthropological insights and the ethereal transformation of matter into energy concerns in this exhibition mirror the history of their fluid ­ a substance such as relationship to the iris group a women s collective initiated by margaret rodgers in the creative process there is always a layering of pure action material liquid or gas that can flow has choices and the imagination these artists have allowed their individual aesthetics no fixed shape and offers little to enter a critical and translucent dialogue incumbent upon a philosophical and resistance to external stress inspired impulse for change sheer vision and poetic labour is not enough to create capable of flowing and easily a transformation of the spaces and territories we inhabit by hearkening back to an almost pre-socratic elemental state fluid these artists have set the stage as changing shape.i a primary substance re-conditions aspects of the nature of being i would argue that their investment is connected to the fundamental reframing of a worldview espoused by the artist writer and teacher suzy gablik in her book entitled re-enchantment of art the philosophies of the cartesian era carried us away from a sense of wholeness by focusing only on individual experience under modernism this often meant freedom from community freedom from obligation to the world and freedom from relatedness the emerging new paradigm reflects a will to participate socially a central aspect of new paradigm thinking involves a significant shift from objects to relationships whereas the aesthetic perspective oriented us to the making of objects the ecological perspective connects art to its integrative role in the larger whole and the web of relationships in which art exists.ii there is room here to relate the individual aesthetic processes of each of the artists while reflecting their willingness to transform their visions through a collective re-reading fluid choreographs a voyage through a landscape in transition 2

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untitled by janice taylor-prebble is a light box construction that illuminates the hand and foot prints of women from the iris group and the surrounding regions this performative action took place on international woman s day a primary action manages to reclaim space and time gesso imprints shine forth like markings on a cave wall as ritual connotes a fluid dance a gestural collaboration leaving one s mark as a sign of communal action taylor-prebble has managed to bear witness to the haptic nature of the origins of making and knowing here there is no trace of an individual but rather the shared primacy of the body in relationship to gravity motion and marking laura hair s triptych of becoming graphite drawings on mylar deal with the concept of metamorphosis the body and the psyche initiate transformations mimetic in nature to the pattern and movement of butterfly wings ­ fluid choreographies in air nature s forms are not alien to but interwoven with our human narratives biblical archetypes and mythological tales trace the oral and written transformations of our human awareness hair s imagery evokes the enactment of consciousness moving towards a refined knowledge of itself becoming her underlying interest in morphogenesis becomes a woven thread laced through these triptychs evolution and the genetic script that underlies our external reality becomes the source and inspiration for these sublime graphic tales 3

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rodgers untitled acrylic on canvas and multimedia piece fluidity draw the viewer into an atmosphere inspired initially by a series of works exhibited in the adirondack mountains this was a place of healing where air and light became the architects of hospitality rodgers abstract landscape painting mirrors the elemental substances that transform the earth s atmosphere colours transport our vision as an airy magenta and yellow mist rises above a turquoise line giving shape to the horizon a narrow shaft of white light separates the apparition of water and mountain from sky the viewer is set adrift in a fluid space where all form is modified by the play of light matter in this place is in a constant state of flux just as the healing body becomes a site for elemental transformation in fluidity a chamber of water illuminates crayoned stones echoed by a video loop of crayons tumbling into the same vessel holly mcclellan s photographs construct fluid spaces fraught with ambiguity and unfamiliarity water becomes the site for something that is invisible mcclellan manages to surprise us through colour shifts or distortions of viewpoint different freedoms alludes to a wading pool that guides our vision through a grid of human activity beside and within a fountain a contained body of water is set close to an ocean only separated by a road and beach this pool is to be entered and becomes a political space mcclellan s two-colour images surface vs subtext and industrial waterscape allow colour to set us afloat in imaginary bodies of water here the uncertainty of hue gives presence to the phenomenon of waves and depth so unrecognizable that we question both our safety and perception in an exotic fluid landscape 4

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strata of aluminum copper and vinyl are stitched together by wendy wallace her recycled materials reveal an industrial wasteland that pierces each layer of our natural habitat there is no place to conceal the meeting of such parallel worlds one feels the upheaval and disparate dislocations within such landscapes manipulation oak ridge moraine becomes a visceral mixed media work that allows wallace to convey the dramatic process of making and deconstructing the landscape this work invokes a kind of iron or bronze age forging of materials for geographical warfare water and its surrounding terrain are overcome by urban/industrial sprawl we are faced with an alchemical mix of substances that distort fluid sources marshlands and rivers must circumnavigate terrains constructed at the expense of forgotten ecologies the energy contained within a standing wave carries an unknown force ruth read s rolling and tumbling paper sculpture freezes a fluid gesture layers of brown paper curl over under and outwards gathering the momentum of deep rhythms this formal interlude is threaded with a bamboo skewer holding the surrounding space in stasis contained here is the memory of a fluid landscape part of the ebb and flow of running water one imagines hydraulic energy drawing a vessel forward the physics of nature becomes the language of motion distilled for navigation irrigation and the potential growth of a garden read captures this wave giving us the form of invisible geometries the shape delineates hidden sounds or the primal gathering of patterns that merge below the surface this is a powerful sculpture waiting to unfold like layers of skin or pages in a book 5

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where do we travel with such awareness as the world unfolds before us a bound history ours is a landscape fraught with constructed barriers sites in upheaval sally thurlow s ethereal fiberglass vessel essence forges a journey a transcendent passage the form becomes a boat floating like a feather as imaginary voyages are embarked upon between dreams and myth the earth becomes fluid once again as fragments of a geographical map float into new configurations inside this boat the lightness of being enters a ritual space concave and womb-like thurlow s journey envisions the almost trance-like state of the shaman for the spirit must loosen in order to visualize a healing process she has constructed a form that floats here navigation wills itself into the fluid currents as mind and spirit imagine new landscapes there is much to consider in this exhibition of thoughtful works a cosmology reshapes itself in fluid allowing us to enter a refined discourse concerning our place and participation in an evolving environment maralynn cherry is a member of the iris group and an artist writer educator and curator endnotes i fluid collins english dictionary 1979 ed ii suzi gablik re-enchantment of art london thames and hudson 1991 7­8 6

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laura hair of becoming 2 2006 graphite on mylar on linen boards 35 x 32 7

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8 janice taylor-prebble untitled 2005 light with gesso on matte 25 x 60

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holly mcclellan surface vs subtext 2006 photograph on arches infinity watercolour paper 24 x 36 9

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10 margaret rodgers untitled 2005 acrylic on canvas 26 x 60

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wendy wallace manipulation oak ridge moraine 2006 acrylic on vinyl with copper and aluminium 74 x 96 11

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12 sally thurlow essence 2006 molded matte fibre glass no colour added 16 x 116 x 10

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ruth read rolling and tumbling 2006 brown kraft paper dyed in indian ink bamboo with two elastics 36 x 24 13

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