Identity, similar to time, is ephemeral, can be fluid, is unfixed and is mutable through its passage. The work in Time3 is similar in value, it is not the art object in the expected sense that one is experiencing and returning to for later contemplation, but rather the experience of the work itself that one is left to reflect. The voice/intent of the artist does not languish in a moment of process as in the solid object, rather it moves, and memory becomes its keeper and interpreter. Further, identity, prior to our present condition of virtual life, was generally thought to have distinct definitions between private and public that did not necessarily include one's inner personal identity. These were generally separated by public decorum and the need to retain a sense of privacy. This interpretation does not even address the state of a national identity, which is at once communal and personal. Presently, we exist in a culture with inconsistent boundaries between the public/private. This perception tends to shape our sense of physical space as it moves into and cuts across both metaphorical and physical distance. Areas that were once taboo, indeed private now make their way to the public world of the internet and vice versa (this of course is arguable as people usually only display what they wish other people to see – hence their public identity is still controlled, slippages occur when unexpected information challenges one's public 'image’). The artists in Time3 are producing work that is at once public engagement and art. The work is separate from the virtual realm that shapes identities while not divorced from the tangible reality of the physical presence of bodies, space and location. While remnants of the performances will make their way in the form of images out of 'real’ world into the virtual one, the experience of being present is what will resonant in the sense of the ephemeral. Time3, Gallery 101’s third time-based art event, includes performance and film/video work. The art presented is ephemeral in character and thematically linked back to an identity, possibly a national one dependent on the artist’s intent. This year’s artists are both local and hail from across the great colonial construction and experimentation of this country called Canada (this is but one take on a national identity). Performance artists include Adrian Stimson, Tonik Wojtyra, Ulysses Castellanos and Christian Messier with local artists Hélène Lefebvre, Theodor Pelmus, Thomas Grondin, Roy Lu, and Véronique Guitard. They all bring their own unique visions and ways of engaging with the subject and their audience. Collaborating with the Ottawa-based Available Light Screening Collective; a selection of works curated by Linda Feesey (Toronto) will be shown. Pleasure Dome in Ottawa ‘Variety Show: A New Toronto Works Sampler’ presents some of the best of Pleasure Dome’s annual New Toronto Works Show. It features short works made by artists Tasman Richardson, Evan Tapper, Steve Reinke, John Forget, Benny Zenga, Randy Gagne, Karma Clarke-Davis, Davida Nemeroff, Jessica Joy, Geoffrey Pugen and Neelam Kler. -Leanne L’Hirondelle
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Saturday, August 21, 2010
Opening- Saturday, August 21, 2010 to Sunday, August 22, 2010