a nanking cherry finds a hill
January 14 - February 17, 2018
Jenny Gagalka
Katie Lyle
Lynnie Wonfor
Zin Taylor
Life is an aspirational construction project.
My mom used to drive us around in a light blue '86 hatchback. The car didn't have a radio - in its place was a black plastic Honda logo, but there was always lots of singing and storytelling.
She would tell us this story about a carnival where a man was on stage offering $10,000 to anyone in the crowd who could come forward and, letter by letter, recite the alphabet backwards.
Nobody could do it, nobody got $10,000.
This left a huge impression on my mom who, as a child, immediately memorized the alphabet backwards. After each time she told us the story she would recite it and encourage my sister and I to do the same.
Although I never ended up memorizing it, this is the first major life concept I remember learning - you can be rewarded in life for skills that aren't being taught in school. As a homeschooler who was already avoiding learning it made total sense to me and I felt proud for knowing it, but it also kinda depressed me. It just seemed like of all the different things you can do with your time, it's hard to focus on something that random. The chances of ever being possessed to learn the alphabet backwards or something similar without a reason seemed so unlikely – or even if you did learn it, the opportunity to use it may never happen.
The alphabet backwards story became a template for how I started thinking about how art was made – as if it were some sort of non-linear thought lottery constructed through the bulk production of random ideas. An awareness that not all ideas are good, but some are unknowingly or eventually special.
I feel like this show is compatible with this way of thinking - a mix of new and old ideas by artists that have all left home.
Lynnie is the first artist I ever met, the first adult that didn't go to work. Our families camped together for years, which is a nice thought because I've been thinking about this show, or group shows, or exhibitions in general as having something to do with camping.
for sunday:
- drywall shed
- build Zin's speaker
- pick up works from Jenny's studio
- ask Lynnie what her piece is called
- receive Katie's work, ask about titles, and bio info
- find or build stretcher bars
- get beer, water, oranges, and citronella candles
Jenny Gagalka - born 1984 in Vancouver, based in Los Angeles.
Katie Lyle - born 1982 in Victoria, based in Toronto.
Lynnie Wonfor - born 1954 in North Hollywood, based in Calgary.
Zin Taylor - born 1978 in Calgary, based in Paris.
Zin Taylor
The Story of Stripes and Dots: Chapter 9 (Tale of a Dot)
17 minutes
2017
Documentation by: Laura Fried, Cameron Coffman, Sean MacAlister & Laura Fetherstonhaugh
Zin Taylor Incense Orange (Portal)
fruit and incense
2009-18
Zin Taylor, Lynnie Wonfor, Katie Lyle, Jenny Gagalka installation view
Zin Taylor, Lynnie Wonfor, Katie Lyle, Jenny Gagalka installation view
Jenny Gagalka Yellow Marble
inkjet print
2016
Jenny Gagalka, Katie Lyle, Lynnie Wonfor installation view
Lynnie Wonfor, Katie Lyle, Jenny Gagalka installation view
Katie Lyle Soap and Shadow (detail)
oil paint, pencil crayon, pastel on canvas
2018
Jenny Gagalka and Katie Lyle installation view
Jenny Gagalka Yellow Jockey
pastel and charcole on paper
2016
Jenny Gagalka installation view
Katie Lyle A book with holes
oil paint, window screening, canvas, jewellery findings
2018
Katie Lyle detail
Katie Lyle installation view
Katie Lyle installation view
Katie Lyle installation view
Katie Lyle A look in the pond
oil paint, window screening, canvas, jewellery findings
2018
Katie Lyle installation view
Katie Lyle A look in the pond
oil paint, window screening, canvas, jewellery findings
2018
Katie Lyle, Lynnie Wonfor installation view
Lynnie Wonfor midnight thoughts from the Nanking Warren
acrylic and pencil on paper
2017
Lynnie Wonfor detail
Lynnie Wonfor detail
Zin Taylor Incense Orange (Portal)
fruit and incense
2009-18
Zin Taylor Incense Orange (Portal)
fruit and incense
2009-18
Zin Taylor Incense Orange (Portal)
fruit and incense
2009-18
Zin Taylor Incense Orange (Portal)
fruit and incense
2009-18
Zin Taylor
The Story of Stripes and Dots: Chapter 9 (Tale of a Dot)
+
Speaker with Void Screen (Composition of Two Dots Drawn as Circles and Realized as the Front of a Speaker for a Moment in Los Angeles)
Cotton, Ink, Paint, Wood, Audio (17 minutes)
2017-2018
Zin Taylor
The Story of Stripes and Dots: Chapter 9 (Tale of a Dot)
+
Speaker with Void Screen (Composition of Two Dots Drawn as Circles and Realized as the Front of a Speaker for a Moment in Los Angeles)
Cotton, Ink, Paint, Wood, Audio (17 minutes)
2017-2018
Katie Lyle
pewter
2017
Zin Taylor Incense Orange (Portal)
fruit and incense
2009-18