KIWI SCULPTURE GARDEN PROJECT 2009
June 22nd - August 1st, 2009
Opening Reception : Sunday, July 5th, 2 - 5pm
Curated by Mary Sue Rankin
Coordinated/sponsored by Paul Loiselle, Kiwi Gardens
Outdoor site-specific installations will be produced by Ania Biczysko, Wojtek Biczysko, Jeffrey B Childs, Michael Dennis, Po Chun Lau, Nina Leo, Erica Olson, David Pellettier, Yvonne Singer, Nurielle Stern, and Marc Walter.
The 2009 summer edition of the annual Kiwi Sculpture Garden Project marks the 8th anniversary of the Perth based site-specific sculpture project. For the past seven years artists have been invited by Edward Day Gallery owner, Mary Sue Rankin to create sculptural installations with the assistance and support of Paul Loiselle, owner of Kiwi Gardens.
Kiwi Gardens is imbedded in the heart of the Canadian shield. A working business, marketing perennial foliage and landscaping, it also contains acres of cultivated and undisturbed areas, wood lots, copses, and streams.
The ongoing theme expressed by the artists for the 2009 Kiwi Project relates specifically to the natural environment within which they are created, but also speak to global concerns of the alteration of the earth’s natural condition.
Ania Biczysko
Birds are messengers, represent freedom, paradise, and an impossible flight beyond boundaries. Birds have unusual calling sounds. Their sound awakens our spirit to a new song each spring. Perched on the dead tree trunk – the song becomes an environmental call.
David Pellettier
There is a ghost-like presence to this cluster of gypsum fire extinguishers, both familiar yet vaguely unsettling. Kelly McCray of Edward Day Gallery described the work as having the quality of “a landscape of potential harm/potential recovery”.
The genesis of the piece evolved from a desire to recreate the sensation of wonder that I get from reading passages from two of my favourite children's stories; the discovery of Badger's doorstep by the tiny desperate pair, Ratty and Mole, in WIND IN THE WILLOWS and the emergence from the wardrobe of the adventurous little child, Lucy, as she stumbles into the depths of a cold and snowy forest towards the glowing street lamp in THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. In both scenes, we join the protagonists in the discovery of incongruous signs of “potential harm/potential recovery” within a dark and foreboding landscape.
Jeffrey B Childs
'Watch the Birdy' is a whimsical comment on the possible consequences of genetic engineering and example of nature's attempt to better protect itself from its primary threat: Us - achieving this through rapid and radical evolutionary changes. Be careful it bites.
Po Chun Lao
In recent months, I have been experimenting with the combination of wax and burlap for molding images that will convey this ongoing process. From this experiment emerged a new body of work that I call "Silent Witnesses". What are they witnessing? What kind of stories are they trying to convey? They are not frozen in time, they are letting the world know what they have witnessed.
Michael Dennis
Nina Leo
Through my work I examine the potential for isolation in contemporary media and technology-rich cultures as experiences become stripped of direct multi-sensorial engagement. The work attempts to re-acquaint us with the senses as a means to understanding how this terrain of virtual and second-hand experience affects us phenomenologically and how this, in turn, may influence our identity, alter our interactions and shape our socio-political perceptions.
Yvonne Singer
I am interested in the intersection of public and private histories as well as ideas about vision (looking and seeing), perception, memory, language, subjectivity and identity formation. In my installations, I employ multi-media techniques often with cryptic texts to articulate cultural issues of disjuncture and perception.
Nurielle Sturn
Two folk customs are combined in the form of a dry stone well containing unbroken wishbones. Traditionally, coins were offered at wells containing the water necessary for life. Here the water has been replaced by bones which generally signify decay. In this case, however, the bones refer to the act of making a wish—an act that is inherently hopeful, imaginative, and playful.
Marc Walter
Marc Walter is intrigued by how the creation of a separate piece or space on a given location will alter the ability of a visitor to perceive an emotional response. Even for a short time, his visitors become dwellers, reflecting upon the site, its history, their own path and above all, all their feelings.
Walter proposes 'The Chamber of Odds', an in situ installation that invites visitors to embrace the surroundings while immersing themselves in an emotional bath. When visiting Kiwi Gardens this Spring, Marc's eye got caught by the very long and gnarled branch of an apple tree. Looking both fragile and strong, the branch had already been braced by Paul Loiselle, owner of Kiwi Gardens. Walter decided to work with and around that very branch, making it the centre of attention and the core of his Chamber of Odds.
The selected artists for 2009 include:
- Ania Biczysko
- Wojtek Biczysko
- Jeffrey B Childs
- Michael Dennis
- Po Chun Lao
- Nina Leo
- Erica Olson
- David Pellettier
- Yvonne Singer
- Nurielle Stern
- Marc Walter
The 2009 Kiwi Sculpture Garden artists offer a range of material including bronze, steel, concrete, found objects, photo and textile based pieces, and land art. The Kiwi Sculpture Project is a testament to the willingness of artists to place their work in an alternative setting, and a testament to the proprietor who enthusiastically assists in that process.
The Sculpture Project runs from June to August, 2009
For more information, contact Mary Sue Rankin or Mr. Kelly McCray
at 416 921-6540 or eddaygal.toronto@sympatico.ca
The Kiwi Gardens are located at
687 Harper Road
Perth ON K7H 3C9
613 267-7384