Chantelle Matkowski

Nostalgia

March 15 - March 19, 2021

Gordon Snelgrove Gallery

The exhibition Nostalgia is a photo documentation about exploring the beautiful landscapes and nature of my hometown Candle Lake, Saskatchewan, using film photography. Through techniques of double exposures and camera light leaks this exhibition presents as a visual experience for the viewers, looking into these photographs is a way of looking directly into the fond memories of my home.

About the Artist

Chantelle Matkowski is currently a student at University of Saskatchewan finishing up her final year of her Bachelor of Fine Arts Honors Degree. She is an aspiring photographer currently resides in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada who mainly shoots in 120mm and 35mm color film as well as some black and white film work. She grew up in Candle Lake, Saskatchewan where a lot of her photographs are inspired by the beautiful nature landscapes, her main focus in her photography is experimentation with different techniques in camera and on the film to create different unexpected outcomes on the photos such as light leaks and double exposures. She has had multiple shows within her artistic career including shows in Saskatoon, China and Newfoundland, with this she has gained a wide knowledge of gallery procedures and installations.

Cecilia Drummond

Surface Tension

March 15 - March 19, 2021

Gordon Snelgrove Gallery

Surface tension supports the water bug, who skates with ease on a river’s rippled skin, fearless of the undercurrent below. Without tension, there can be no awareness of harmony. Without a recognition of the self there can be no understanding of the other. My work aims to act as a mirror. I am very interested in how the viewer engages with metaphors. For example, in the description of the water bug, is there an analogy that can be found for one’s own experience? Does a painting of an ocean storm spur a desire for adventure, or evoke the feeling of death and destruction? In the gaze of an animal, is there a feeling of aversion or warmth, or maybe a recognition of the wild or tameness within? Similarly, when observing another person, we might see their imperfections or their beauty, reflections of the judgments we hold for ourselves. I am interested in how art creates this interface for each viewer. A personal language understood between the work and that specific person’s unique interpretation, which is affected by their history, their shifting moods, etc. Each of these works is a reminder of the transient nature of the self, and the choice we have to push against life or let go of control and accept with grace the inevitability of change, and the universality of every tone of experience.

About the Artist

Cecilia Drummond was born in Lethbridge, Alberta but has lived in Saskatoon for the last six years working casually as a nurse.  For the last four years she has been dedicated to the BFA Honours in Studio Art program. Although she dabbles in drawing, print making, and sculpture - she mainly works in painting, often using oil on top of acrylic. Her work is usually a mish mash of realism and conceptual art, paired with abstraction, dreamscapes, and surrealism. Drummond hopes to create art that tickles the curiosity with both a sense of seriousness and a sense of play. She hopes to further develop her sense of play, in both life and in art, and see just how far it gets her. She plans to pursue a Master of Fine Arts Degree as soon as the opportunity arises.