Eva Francis-Work

some days you’re the clown

April 4 - April 8, 2022

Gordon Snelgrove Gallery

Come one, come all, the show is set to start!

Everyone needs to laugh, and I love nothing more than to create images that make me laugh. The idea of running away with the circus has always been tempting, the whimsy, the animals, and the cotton candy are all alluring. The magic that happens in the circus can also be conjured through the digital medium—skillfully and with careful coordination, the impossible can be created. While also offering spectacle, the Circus is more importantly about tradition and community. There is an established rhythm and uniformity behind the curtain that is constructed around narratives; everything, and everyone has a role to play.

In my exhibition, some days you’re the clown, I work through ideas of opposition, femininity, self-expression, and identity while appropriating themes and imagery from the circus arts. Just like the circus, I am a composition of many characters or versions of myself: every event, idea, or hobby helps to shape the illusion of who I am. In a type of digital magic trick, a series of prints act as triggers for augmented reality (AR) sculptures, each featuring a circus character revealing a different aspect of who I am.

Please, step up and enjoy the show!

About the Artist

Eva Francis-Work is nearing the end of her undergraduate years, completing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and her Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours degrees. These two subject areas have formed the basis for her artwork, each influencing the other with a recent focus on self-expression. Using herself as subject matter, Eva explores ideas of femininity and self-introspection through subtle humor. Eva’s passion lies in printmaking and digital artwork, bringing these passions together has led to more immersive works.

Leanne Read

Viral Strain

April 4 - April 8, 2022

Gordon Snelgrove Gallery

Viral Strain is inspired by the consequential circumstances of the pandemic outside of the illness. Over the last few years, I have felt overwhelming anxiety and emotional hopelessness because of fear of the unknown and complete loneliness due to isolation and lack of social interactions. The effects that restrictions have had on my mental health, as well as the people around me, is something that we are just now starting to see the full effects of. I have witnessed relationships torn apart because of differing views on what should be done. Vulnerable people have been protected by measures implemented from the mask, vaccine, and testing mandates; however, with each new circumstance, there is a consequence, such as the proliferation of pandemic garbage.

The show uses both real and heavy materials to represent the strain of the pandemic balanced by a light-hearted stylistic approach. I have seen firsthand the challenges that the younger generations have faced as they maneuver through daily complications. The video game reference and use of new digital technologies in my installation are significant because video games, cellphones, and social media were often the go-to sources of entertainment and information, as children and youth lived in isolation for many months. Each level in the video game represents a situation that has been a challenge over the past two years. As we move through the levels, with the potential of losing our lives, we end up back at the beginning in a seemingly endless loop.

About the Artist

Throughout her time as a Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours student, Leanne Read developed a passion for animation, digital art, and sculpture. Leanne worked as a studio production assistant for a multi-media installation called Natures of Reality with professor Lisa Birke. She created a short, animated film, "Water You Waiting For", as part of a student scholarship/mentorship summer program in collaboration with Global Waters Futures initiative to bring awareness of water security issues to the general public. In 2020 and 2021, Leanne created 3D augmented models that were exhibited on the SHARED SPACES app as part of Nuit Blanche Eve at the University of Saskatchewan. Leanne is the recipient of numerous scholarships and awards from the University of Saskatchewan including the Manjari Sharma Memorial Award in Sculpture, the Anna Bychinsky Award for Excellence in the Fine Arts or Music, and the Hantelman Humanities Undergraduate Scholarship. She is also an awardee of the Prince Edward Arts Scholarship from SK Arts.