Jenny McMaster

Abound: Our MFA Show at the OAG

So after being shut down by omicron and then the freedom convoy our MFA Exhibition Abound finally opened at the Ottawa Art Gallery. Shortened due to the crazy times we live in, Feb 23rd to March 6th, the event fittingly embodies the series of pivots and truncations students and artists faced over the last couple of years. Virtual, flying by the seat of our pants, sometimes magnanimously accepting, other times loudly annoyed, compassionately graded, over worked, confused, but always adaptable, because we just needed to keep making art, for our school, for ourselves for everyone else.

Great round of applause and thanks to my class mates: Angelina Barruco, Natalie Bruvels, Peter Kohut, Erin Fyfe Donnelly, Laura Paulini, and in memoriam Lilly Koltun. I love you guys.

If you didn't get in to the gallery, check out the exhibition online on the OAG website. For more photos of my work specifically check out: Hare in Situ on my website 

and the article published in Apt 613 by Emmanuel Gringas

 

Hare in Situ at Theatre LabO

I'm just putting the finishing touches on my pre-thesis exhibition Hare in Situ at Ottawa U's Theatre LabO in the Ottawa Art Gallery complex. Its been an interesting challenge working in a large black box space, when I've been so accustomed to white gallery walls. I'd like to extend a huge thankyou to Visual Arts department techs Sasha Phipps and David McDougall as well as Theatre techs Liam and Abby for making things happen. 

Hare in Situ explores animality and animals particularly the hare. In tandem with my interest in animal studies and ecology, my work delves into concepts related to the bodily, the intuitive and the material. While the study of animality uncovers negative and precarious aspects of being a nonhuman, the production of my art has always encompassed the positive aspects of it as well, specifically a more expansive sense of identity.

The installation uses handmade paper, sculpture, animation, and sound to depict the hare’s habitat. I have assembled a thicket with branches constructed with papier-mache, gypsum strips and abaca pulp and furnished these tree limbs with raw hemp fibre which serves as foliage. I have used discarded bed sheets and other fabrics to create tree roots and wound hemp around picture wire to create springy tendrils. I have arranged, pulp-based hare and rabbit ears, with the distinct resemblance to funguses, on the floor and walls.

 The installation uses light, touch, and sound to create an immersive environment to provoke an immersive experience.  More photos to come soon!

 

Bozica Radjenovic's Flood Line at Karsh Masson

Visit The Flood Line at Karsh Masson, featuring the fascinating art work of Bozica Radjenovic. Bozica is a very talented sculptor adept with fibres, as well wood and bronze. The exhibition explores the theme of ecological and emotional overflow, evoking events that leave traces on our bodies and minds, just as high water does on our natural environment. I am honoured to have penned the exhibition text! 

The exhibition runs from July 29th to September 19th. I got the post pandemic thrill of visiting the opening last night and chatting with the artist. She will be giving tours August 5th between 2 and 3 pm.