IN WAVES
NOVEMBER 9TH - DECEMBER 2ND
OPENING: FRIDAY NOVEMBER 9TH, 7-9PM
Fiona
Freemark’s art is based on day-to-day experiences of life in Toronto,
Ottawa Valley, and, most recently, the Doris McCarthy Residency located
off the Scarborough Bluffs. Each work of art layers two subject matters
that interact, either in opposition or tandem, to create intricate and
subtle narratives based on the Canadian landscape. Freemark’s work
creates a visual representation of time, sometimes spanning a single
hour, day, or week.
There’s
no word for the unique medium Freemark works in—it’s a blend of
photography, collage, printmaking, and drawing. The process of creation
begins with taking a photograph. Freemark is drawn to images with a
blanket of patterns (sunlight hitting the leaves of an apple tree in the
morning) or have a central focus (a wilting bouquet left for her by the
Doris McCarthy housekeeper). Looking over the photographs she’s taken,
Freemark intuitively makes connections between the image and her memory
of the day to gain inspiration for the second image which she carves
into, or out of, the photograph. Instead of a pen, Freemark uses a blade
to draw with, cutting line-drawings into the photographs. The end
product becomes an object itself, a still life of a still life.
During
her month-long residency at Doris McCarthy’s cottage, built in the
1940s, Freemark worked to portray the site’s complex qualities by
considering routines, natural light, found objects, and the overlap
between interior and exterior spaces—visualized by repeating tropes of
windows and reflections. The interior/exterior divide in Freemark’s work
also takes the form of landscapes and still-lives, subject matter that
Freemark toggles between and often blurs together.
A
photograph of a bouquet of flowers sitting on a table (Bouquet/Still
Life No.2) is abstracted by a cut out of another bouquet that Freemark
held up to the light to create a stencil of the shadow. A cut-out of an
apple necessitates the viewer lean into the work to determine the
original source material—the payoff, well worth the effort. The
distortion of a familiar image into the unfamiliar surprises and
delights the viewer who is willing to look long enough to unravel the
image.
This series of work was created with the support of the Doris McCarthy Artist-in-Residence program, and the Ontario Heritage Trust. Please join us for an opening reception on Friday November 9th, from 7-9PM.
This series of work was created with the support of the Doris McCarthy Artist-in-Residence program, and the Ontario Heritage Trust. Please join us for an opening reception on Friday November 9th, from 7-9PM.
