SFU Student Art Show: Mini Rock Collection:
not about rocks, but repurposing
Nick Pannu, Associate Staff Writer
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The Mini Rock Collection opens May 26 and runs till May 28 at the Alexander Centre, 611 Alexander (at Princess), suite 330.
Having numerous performances and gallery exhibits, Simon Fraser’s School for the Contemporary Arts has certainly carved out a niche for itself both up on the Burnaby Mountain campus and down at Harbour Centre as well. Yet, there is even another more conspicuous venue that holds many great shows, but is unfortunately too often overshadowed and overlooked: The Alexander Centre in Gastown. It is here that the graduate students from SFU’s Master of Fine Arts program will be showcasing their Mini Rock Collection show this upcoming weekend, May 26-28.
The title of the exhibit is a little misleading, as the emerging artists are not exclusively showcasing art depicting the authenticity of various rocks. “The title was chosen because it adequately discloses the diversity that exists within the gallery. The exhibits incorporate music, film, theatre, video, sculpture, installations, dance and sound work,” clarifies Emily Rosamond, one of the MFA students. She elaborated further that innovation is a common foundation for each theme — that there is often a translation between different mediums. As such, Emily says tells me that we should expect great diversity and variety out of this year’s show as many of the works will often cross disciplines – you will see text incorporated with video, for instance.
Emily’s display involves installations: mass produced items such as coffee cups and pillowcases are showcased in a manner that suggests they have alternative uses. Emily explained that she wanted to somehow deconstruct the idea that a “thing” can only serve one very specific purpose.
Moreover, Cindy Mochizuki and Amanda Dawn Christie, two other MFA students took a divergent approach with their work. First of all, they didn’t want to make any bold statements with their display. Cindy articulated that her theme isn’t one-dimensional – it doesn’t try to make blanket statements, for example, that war is bad. Rather, it’s an opportunity to address an alternative means to view history that is overlooked and forgotten because it doesn’t have a tangible presence. Amanda was particularly adamant that she didn’t want to make a grandiose generalized statement for the rest of humanity. Through her exhibit she addresses how our memories fade over time and change and therefore become a fabrication and more fictional then real. Part of the inspiration behind her display is to have some element of her work resonate with the viewer and hopefully a connection on some level can manifest itself.
I found the various pieces quite interesting and thought provoking. Through Emily’s display I realized that it’s often forgotten that matter is made of molecules just like living creatures. Where do we then draw the line between the organic and non-organic? This is one of the questions these artists got me thinking about. I asked Emily what mindset the viewer should ideally have when entering the gallery. She suggested that coming to the gallery in a vivid, thinking mood and being open to a different perspective will definitely enhance the experience.
film and video
installation
performance
photography
writing
audio