Jen O'Connor | The Unified Field
The Unified Field, 2020
Watercolor, Acrylic, Print
Work pending completion will be complete by October 7th 2020
The horse is a powerful beast. Universally the we see the horse as a beautiful free creature operating without restraint and in their glory. But, through the work of early ancestors we domesticate this useful animal which is undoubtedly why numerous groups of humans have been able to survive in face of an inhospitable natural world. Their labor in building the kingdom of man is what has allowed humans to develop in the industrious and creative ways we have, and can be acknowledged for why we are now blessed with abundance in the developed world.
In the Old Testament we encounter four men riding the horses of pestilence, famine, war and death. A mysterious scroll, unable to be opened by any beings present in the Holy Kingdom, was released by a seven eyed goat who removed the ribbon with his nose. The horses released are not bringing these terrors by themselves but being directed by riders.
Since the Neolithic Revolution over 10,000 years ago we have collectively experienced a change that affected all those living at the time and who have come thereafter. Our changing relationship to our environment was supplemented by our ability to harness the energy of horse and later develop machines. Places with more rapid technological advancements have profited from the conquering of territories, farming and the development agricultural systems to support an ever growing population. All advancements and solutions have side effects and our transition from hunter gathers to agriculture societies experienced major changes including the ability to support a larger population, hierarchical arrangements and the practice of slavery.
The second element of this work is pattern. A theory found in quantum mechanics is that of the Unified Field, a theory seeking to understand the subtle vibrations that encompass all of life. The absence of pattern at the center of the work is a channel, one from where we can insert our individuality. A space in which to align ourselves and extrapolate our deepest truths in relation to the whole. In the face of the suffering we need to understand more deeply enter our selves to understand humanity. We must acknowledge our presence as a result of history and work to dismantle personal and collective traumas which only perpetuate needless suffering.
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DEMO REELGarbage Conglomorate Theater // Trash Talk // The Peep Show // How to Destroy Video
I want to add the work that I was engaged in during my last two years at ECUAD. I was developing documentation of my sculptural assemble which uses only garbage and found materials. I returned to painting in order to complete The Unified Field work, but the demo reel found in the link above will give you a better idea of my sculptural and film practice
By limiting my use of materials to garbage I demonstrate the emergent properties of these materials as well as to inquire into the necessity of the continued production of new materials. I animate sets to create video productions that often deal with satirical representations of mainstream media or that question the status quo and customs of society.
Please visit my website for more detailed descriptions of individual artworks.
Haley Bassett
This project was awarded the Opus Art Supplies Graduation Award (BFA), and received an Honourable Mention for the Vancouver Art Attack Award
Haley Bassett is a Métis and Austrian-Russian visual and social practice artist from Dawson Creek, BC. She was born in 1991 to cattle-rancher parents, and now lives and works in Sunset Prairie, BC. She completed her BFA in Visual Art from Emily Carr University, minoring in Social Practice and Community Engagement in May 2020.
As part of her social practice, Bassett founded the Northern Arts – Community Development Program in 2019, in partnership with the Dawson Creek Art Gallery. This program is designed to alleviate barriers to artistic professional development in the Peace Region. As part of this program she writes a weekly arts column, teaches and organizes workshops, as well as curates and organizes art exhibitions in public venues.
Bassett started out as a painter; however, her practice is now focused on sculpture and social practice. Her visual work explores how time, place, family histories and personal traumas converge as formational aspects of the self. She use floral motifs and natural materials, including dried and fresh flowers, to create these coded narratives by drawing on the Victorian tradition of floriography (the language of flowers), the cultural significance of certain plants as well as her personal associations with them. Much of Bassett’s work celebrates the culture and landscape of the Peace Region, and she hopes to make a positive impact on northern communities by representing them authentically in her work.
Website: https://haley-bassett.format.com/
Instagram: @haley.bassett
Zoe Mandell | Surfacing
Looking In
Wallflower
Why do I paint myself?
Because I do not understand myself.
And the action of creating self-portraits is a form of research more than anything else.
Why do I paint myself?
Because the image you see is not me. It is a representation that other people associate with me, but my relationship with myself is made up of colours and smells and sounds and textures … A picture of my painting palette is a much truer self-portrait as far as I’m concerned, as it captures a moment in which I am the freest.
Living Waters | מים חיים
I’ve fallen in love with a surface before
whether expertly placed or haphazardly smeared
If they really knew who we were underneath
Would it tear us apart?
Would it be as we feared?
Hypnotized
Looking Up
LEARNING TO SEE | a photographic journey through Israel
“Surfacing” is a personal artistic exploration through painting, drawing, and photography to experiment with light and colour and water. Zoe is a multidisciplinary artist mainly focusing in oil paint as well as multiple mediums to convey her visual method of storytelling. In her paintings, drawings, and photos, her ideas manifest in bright colours, bold shapes, and unconventional contemporary portraiture. Her self-portraits explore a story of interpersonal self-discovery through colours and textures. While studying abroad at Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem, Israel last year, she focused her skills in photography and used this as a stepping stone to grow and evolve her painting practice. She learned to search for the “unseen” elements in her photos to transport viewers to new realms of visual thought. This project connects pieces from multiple years of work to create a conversation between surface and substance, all exploring a tie between reality and fantasy.
Contact: bazikem96@gmail.com
Mobile: 604.999.0714
Zoe Mandell grew up between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean in beautiful Vancouver, Canada. She is an artist, a storyteller, and a dreamer, though laughing is by far her favourite hobby. When she’s not busy drawing, writing, teaching kids, or making music, you might find her hiking a mountain, or perhaps painting one. Since completing her bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts at Emily Carr University, her hope is to build a solo painting career and make the world a little better in the process.
Molly Bertheaud | The Ears of An Elephant Look Like a Mollusk
My work melds the classical forms of painting and tapestry with contemporary techniques to tell modern mythologies. “The ears of an elephant look like a mollusk” sets a tranquil scene, a woman peeling potatoes, but in the center of the work, there is an interior drama.
New Craft | Modern Mythologies
I’m very interested in how craft techniques engage with new technology, like computerized knitting. The compositions originate from my paintings on canvas and using my computer and the limitations of jacquard knit programming. The final work is made up of 4 six color knit pieces, assembled like a quilt until a narrative emerges into large scale highly textured tapestry.
Molly Bertheaud...
is a Canadian-American artist, who graduated in 2020 from Emily Carr with a BFA.
Zilai Lu | Memories, Nostalgia, Home
Contact info
Cell : 778-927-7057
Email: summerlu873@gmail.com
Webpage: summerlu.art
Summer Lu grew up in Jiangsu, Suzhou, China where she attended an IB international High school and held her first art exhibition. In 2020 she graduated from Emily Carr university of Art and Design with a Bachelor of Fine arts majoring in Visual Arts.
Her main focus are oil painting, and illustration. Her work celebrates nature as well as themes of identities and memories .
Aurora Quinlan | In Movement
Materiality and Connection; The Intertwining of Meaning through a Multitude
During my final year at Emily Carr, I began exploring my work through the connection and materiality each piece has in relation to the pieces around it. Though I work mainly with painting, I felt as though materiality and the inclusion of many kinds of materials were important for my final year. Every artwork has a relationship to the artist and its audience, but also with the works which accompany it on the wall and the materials in which they are all created from. While my original intention was to be able to explore the connection different works have when in conversation on a wall, the connection of these pieces has morphed and grown, even without their intended installation form. This display, while not what I had originally envisioned for my final piece, has been able to create connection and new meaning through the circumstances.
The Connection of Individuals
The Connection of Individuals shows the beginnings of what was intended to be my graduation piece, but due to the unforeseen circumstances we have all had to face, it has become a project all of its own. I now see it as the beginning of a new way to think through painting in my practice. In this, I am focusing on not only each individual piece but on how they interact and connect with one another, through material, colour and installation. While I was unable to fully explore the installation portion of this collection, I will continue to investigate these ideas in future projects, and I am grateful for what these pieces have taught me. The connection between art and ourselves will always be there, no matter the circumstances, and I intend on continuing my pursuit of this connection.
In Movement
In Movement is a diptych, which was intended to be connected with most, if not all, of the pieces from The Connection of Individuals and installed in order to create a conversation and collaboration, and a final unified piece. Due to the circumstances, and the lack of installation ability, this project grew apart from The Connection of Individuals, and into something separate from its original intention. This diptych has changed and developed into the expression of the feelings of abruptly finishing a degree, moving back to my childhood hometown, and leaving a life I was not prepared to leave. Just as many other people, my life was quickly uprooted and I had to readjust to life in my childhood hometown, far from everything I had grown to know in my adult life. The circumstances in which myself and many of my peers experienced prompted me to finish these piece in relation to the situation, rather than try and make them what I had originally intended them to be. The making of these pieces began before any of us knew what was about to happen and finished in a different province and in a changing world. Though In Movement is not what I originally thought it would be, I feel these works changed and grew into what they needed to be, as did I.
ABOUT AURORA QUINLAN
Aurora Quinlan grew up in Alberta and moved to Vancouver in order to attend Emily Carr University of Art and Design. She is now one of the BFA graduates of 2020, who majored in Visual Arts and minored in Art and Text. She is working towards receiving her MFA in Visual Arts. Quinlan aspires to be a university professor in the Visual Arts field as well as maintaining her own art practice so that she can continue creating her own work while teaching and encouraging aspiring artists to pursue their passion.
Jeong Min Ahn
Trash No.1, Oil on Canvas, 24″ x 30″ Trash No.2, Oil on Canvas, 24″ x 30″ Trash. No.5, Oil on Canvas, 24″ x 30″
Trash No.6, Oil on Canvas, 24″ x 30″ Trash No.4, Oil on Canvas, 24″ x 30″ Trash. No.8, Oil on Canvas, 24″ x 30″
Untitled, Oil on Canvas, 18″ x 24″ Trash No.3, Oil on Canvas, 24″ x 30″ Trash. No.7, Oil on Canvas, 24″ x 30″
Artist Statement
As a hyperrealist artist, I am experimenting with still-lifes featuring trash and recyclables. The paintings promote thoughts of consumerism and its relationship to the ecosystem. In painting these objects I also portray the potential beauty that can be found even in things often regarded to be without value, such as used and disposable objects. Hyper-realistic paintings require an obsessive attention to detail, and in giving this attention to an object rendered in this style, the objects will arguably be beautified in a way that suggests value. Further proposing that consumerism corrupts the human perception of value.
Humans have created materials, such as plastic, that allow us to have a convenient and comfortable life. Modern society is relying heavily on these materials and there are consequences to this reliance. However, people are blinded by their desire for convenience. Annually the consumption of these materials has increased. Trash is not an object that people have second thoughts about or look carefully at. As I paint hyperrealistic paintings of trash I allow viewers to look more carefully at the objects. Hyperrealistic paintings require large amounts of time to render, and the great care and detail put into this work conflicts with the notion of the objects disposability and lack of value. Consumerism and the ecosystem have an unavoidable and complex relationship with each other – when one is doing well, the other does not. When there is an increase in the consumption of products, there will be an increased impact on our ecosystem. These are some of the ideas that I am currently addressing in my paintings.
Megan Hay | Untitled
"Untitled"
Throughout the past two years, I have been collecting vintage photographs. The content of the photographs contains everyday situations: a dog playing in a backyard, an old house, friends hanging out, or children playing at Christmas. The selected photograph for this work displays a man standing in a kitchen. This photograph is part of a series done as part of the same concept. These photographs have been forgotten, and these moments have been left behind. With this series, I wanted to revive forgotten moments in the form of painting. Although these paintings are recreations of the photographs, my experience and perception of these events are different from those shown in the photographs. I strive to interpret my connection with the scenes and individuals depicted in the photographs by physically expanding them onto paintings, and imparting my personal interpretation in the form of my chosen brush strokes and textures while maintaining realistic composition and colour schemes of the original photographs. After re-articulating the photograph into a large-scale painting, I then create another painting of the same photograph, with no reference imagery. The second painting is based solely on memory. The photographs represent an accurate physical depiction of the events, while the final paintings represent how our memory shifts with time, and how our perception of life’s happenings differs from those around us. No matter the event, and no matter the individual, our memory differs from experiencing the actual event. The final paintings could not have existed if not for the original photographs, the first paintings, and the subsequent recreation process. Similarly, our conscious experiences are all shaped by the physical events that occur, but our memory is continuously shaped by personal factors and our perception of these events.
Tess Collens | Faded Ink
“Faded Ink” is a project that looks into the way people create and lose their memories. With themes of identity, personhood and nostalgia, “Faded Ink” comes to life through a series of different studies. These studies include oil paintings, watercolour pencil drawings and multimedia works.
This project was inspired by mental health struggles and the issues surrounding the way people retain and store memory. Although each work has its own style and technique they all reflect the same thing, a need to understand ourselves and the world we perceive around us.
Artist Statement
In my work, I create portraits in the hope to find an idea or story in the way each person is captured. Throughout my time at Emily Carr, I worked to understand the ways in which concept is important in an artist’s practice. In my practice, I look to portraiture to find my concept. I seek to help express not only what I feel through my work but also help create ways to access subjects difficult to understand.
Artist Bio
Tess Collens’ grew up in Vancouver, B.C. and first attended art school at NSCAD (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design) before transferring to Emily Carr University of Art and Design. She is currently based out of Comox, a small town on Vancouver Island.
Instagram: @carribeanjerk
