Art onlookers from across the city filed into the Ottawa Art Gallery on Sept. 20 for the opening reception of the new exhibit Expeditions, which runs until Jan. 13.
Curated by Ola Wlusek, Expeditions is a collection focusing on the Canadian landscape and the personal connection that many are able to make with the landscape. The exhibition features work by Katie Bethune-Leamen (Toronto), Peter Michael Wilson (Hamilton), Cecilia Nygren (Stockholm/Alberta), Penny McCann (Ottawa), and the duo Christian Giroux and Daniel Young (Guelph/Berlin), creating a mix of alternative perspectives and approaches to the Canadian landscape.
The reception was enlivened with the music of Electric Youth, an electronic-pop group originally from Hamilton but now based in California.
The exhibition’s concentration on the Canadian landscape received nothing but good reviews.
“The theme is fantastic. The theme is long overdue. It’s nice to be able to look at a traditional theme in a fresh way,” said Martin Golland, assistant visual arts professor at the University of Ottawa.
“Taking into account all of the time that’s passed, the theme remains but the art has changed and I think people don’t know that,” he said.
“I like all of the pieces in turn and all of the pieces together make a really good show, and that’s a good example of a well-curated show.”
Katie Bethune-Leamen’s piece Iceberg for Fogo Island When There Are None is a Styrofoam sculpture of an iceberg humorously representing her time spent in Newfoundland.
Peter Michael Wilson’s black-and-white photographs titled Ghost Canoe are eerie images from Algonquin Park, which Wilson visited in an attempt to make a connection with Tom Thomson, the creator of the Group of Seven.
The dynamic duo of Christian Giroux and Daniel Young take a geometrical and architectural approach to the landscape in their piece titled Mr. Smith, following in the footsteps of the American sculptor Tony Smith who often used the same approach.
Cecilia Nguyen’s film Tom attempts to show the authenticity of the landscape through her use of images that take on an historical quality and her obvious influence from Tom Thomson.
Penny McCann’s film Crashing Skies concentrates on the landscape of Mount Forest, Ont., and uses solarizing effects and colour to create a visually pleasing and thought-provoking film.
“What I’m trying to do is create a place inside the head where people are freed up from meaning and are able to project themselves into the film,” she said.
As they’re watching it begins to reverberate within them through their memories and experiences, and then draws them into a place that is within them already.”
Penny’s film, although rather simple, manages to convey the mixed feelings that many of us have with our landscape.
“For Canadians, whether we’re born here or not, we struggle with this landscape; we’re fiercely committed to it, but we love it and we hate it all at the same time. It’s a striking place we live in, and it has an impact on the soul inevitably.”
Spectator Michael Griffin-Almonte successfully identified the message that many of the artists, especially Penny, are trying to deliver.
“I feel compelled to not forget what is under my feet.”
