galerie tiers-espacethird space gallery

2007-02-22T00:38:00.000-04:00

Space Invaders Re-enactment in stop motion

2007-02-22T00:30:00.000-04:00

Pong - Stop Motion

2007-02-22T00:15:00.000-04:00

Tony vs. Paul

2007-02-21T22:34:00.001-04:00

My Animated World

2007-02-21T22:34:00.000-04:00

The Art of Motion

C.R.A.Z.Y

2006-12-07T21:32:00.000-04:00

screening monday, december 11 8pm, pay what you can

Save the Green Planet!

2006-11-27T11:39:00.000-04:00

Monday, November 27, 8pm

Byung-Gu believes that Aliens live among human beings and that these extra-terrestrial life forms are the main reason behind society’s many problems as well as the misfortune in his personal life. Being the only one aware of the problem that humanity is facing, the situation puts the fate of all human lives in his hand. The only way to stop the aliens is to speak with the Alien Prince of Andromeda before the next lunar eclipse.

However, finding the Aliens is quite a task since they look just like human beings. The most logical suspect at the moment is Kang Man-Shik, the president and CEO of a big chemical company. With the help of his beloved girlfriend, Byung-Gu they will kidnap the business man and try to make him confess that he is, in fact, an alien and then will try to convince him to let him contact the Prince. Meanwhile, a police inspector is on the case of Mr. Kang’s kidnapping and is becoming closer and closer to finding out what really happened to Kang. Will Byung-Gu have time to save humanity before the cops get to him?

The works of Michel Gondry

2006-11-17T14:34:00.000-04:00

screening Monday, November 20, 8pm

Through an exploration of music videos, short films, and commercials we see how the innovative Gondry, director of the quirky Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, utilizes a dazzling array of low-tech, stop-animation techniques to bring his complex dreamworlds to life.

Featuring Beck, Bjork, The Chemical Brothers, The White Stripes, Jim Carrey, Massive Attack, The Rolling Stones and more.

42 Princess Street, second floor, above Lemongrass Restaurant

Admission is pay what you can

Les Triplettes des Belleville

2006-11-08T15:26:00.000-04:00

When her grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and her beloved pooch Bruno team up with the Belleville Sisters--an aged song-and-dance team from the days of Fred Astaire--to rescue him.

Screening Monday, November 13 8pm

The Big Lebowski

2006-11-02T23:06:00.000-04:00

Screening Monday, November 6, 8pm
42 Princess Street, Saint John, NB

Night of the Living Dead

2006-10-27T12:39:00.000-03:00

Night of the Living dead, screening Monday, October 30 at 8pm, Third Space Gallery. Happy Halloween!

What's Up, Tiger Lilly

2006-10-23T13:41:00.000-03:00

Screening Monday October 23 8pm Third Space Gallery 42 Princess Street above Lemongrass Restaurant

Kitchen Party: the art of intervention

2006-10-20T10:41:00.000-03:00

2006-10-14T19:49:00.000-03:00

rePerformance:

Don Simmons performs Chris Burden's "Velvet Water"

2006-10-14T19:24:00.000-03:00

Centers by Vito Acconci

2006-10-14T19:23:00.000-03:00

Association Area by Vito Acconci

2006-10-14T19:08:00.000-03:00

Relation in time

17 hour performance by Marina Abramovic and Ulay (Uwe Laysiepen)

inside/out

2006-08-16T10:41:00.000-03:00

insideout
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

new third space website

2006-04-03T09:15:00.000-03:00

The new Third Space Gallery website is up. Check it out here

Scar Project workshop

2006-02-15T21:44:00.000-04:00

workshop
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

As part of the Scar Project exhibition, visiting artist Nadia Myre led gallery visitors through a scar-making exercise. For those that wish to make a scar to leave with the exhibition they can do so between Wednesday-Friday, 4 pm - 10 pm, or Saturday afternoons 12 noon - 6 pm, or call 644-8840 to make an appointment.

Scar Project - media release

2006-02-08T12:15:00.000-04:00

SCAR PROJECT by NADIA MYRE

February 10 – March 25 2006
Vernissage Friday, February 10, 6-8PM, FREE
Drop-in workshop by Nadia Myre Saturday, February 11, between 12 noon – 4 pm, FREE

Third Space Gallery is thrilled to bring Montréal-based, Internationally-recognized visual artist Nadia Myre to present her travelling Scar Project. Scar Project is a collaborative exercise in recording and sharing personal histories; the stories that we loathe, love or cherish. By playing on a number of modes of language – linguistic and material – the artist proposes to intertwine individual and collective memories: canvas and words become the conduit of the exchange. This dialogue, in its linguistic, cultural and aesthetic forms, addresses the scar traces left behind by memory.

Myre strives to decipher these intimate territories through an interactive lab where individuals are invited to work on numerous canvases hanging in the gallery space. They participate by sewing the topography of their own scar onto the stretched fabric and by recording the story of the wound at one of the writing stations, thus linking it to its scar.
Myre is perhaps best known in this country for her 2000-2002 collaborative beading project Indian Act, wherein Myre and over 200 volunteers meticulously beaded over the text of the Canadian legislation with white and red glass beads. This “act”—whose title connotes the title of legislation, The Indian Act, and the counter-action of an Indian upon it—uses intelligibility as a powerful tactic to transcend language and affect viewers of all backgrounds.

Visual activist Nadia Myre is an Algonkin (Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg) born in Montreal, Quebec. A graduate of the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design (1997) in Vancouver and Concordia University (2002) in Montréal, she has participated in numerous exhibitions including The American West, Compton Verney, Warwickshire, ENG (2005); Au Fils de Mes Jours , Musée National des beaux-arts du Quebec, Québec, QC (2005); Skin Deep, or Poetry for the Blind , Art Mur, Montréal, QC (2004); Fabrics of Change / Trading Identities , University of Wollongong and Flinders University, Australia (2004); Beyond Words , Bishops University, Lennoxville, QC (2004) and Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax (2003); and Cont(r)act , Galerie Oboro, Montréal, QC (2002).

Third Space Gallery invites the public to the vernissage of Nadia Myre: Scar Project on Friday, February 10 at 6pm. The artist will be in attendance. In addition, Nadia Myre will offer a workshop on Saturday, February 11 between noon and 4pm where the public is invited to participate directly in sharing stories and creating canvases to add to the Scar Project. Both events are free. Third Space Gallery would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Arts Development branch of the Culture and Sport Secretariat of New Brunswick.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Judith Mackin, Punch Productions
Chris Lloyd, Artistic Director
693-5839
644-8840

Third Space Gallery / Galerie Tiers Espace
The Brodie Building – 42 Princess Street, second floor
Saint John, NB E2L 1K2

SCAR PROJECT: Gallery Hours:
Wednesday – Friday 4PM – 10 PM
Saturday 1PM – 6PM
Or by appointment

COMMUNIQUÉ

Nadia Myre : Scar Projet

Du 10 février au 25 mars 2006. Vernissage le vendredi 10 février, 18h – 20h, GRATUIT
Atelier libre à tous avec Nadia Myre le samedi 11 février, de midi à 16h

La galerie Tiers Espace est heureuse de présenter le projet itinérant Scar Projet par l’artiste montréalaise Nadia Myre. Le moteur principal de ce projet est l’idée de partage qui se manifeste par l’entremise des récits personnels : ceux qu'on garde, qu’on déteste ou qu’on adore. Jouant sur plusieurs modes de langage, Myre propose d'entremêler mémoires individuelles et collectives : le canevas et les mots se transforment véhicules d'échanges. Ce dialogue vise à examiner les traces déposées par les échos de la mémoire.

L'artiste propose le décryptage de ces territoires intimes sous la forme d'un atelier interactif où chacun est invité à intervenir sur les toiles accrochées dans la galerie. Les participants sont appelés à coudre de fil et de corde la topographie de leur propre cicatrice et à inscrire l'histoire qui s’y rattache sur papier.

Nadia Myre est connue au Canada pour son œuvre Indian Act (2000-2002) : accompagnée de 200 bénévoles, elle a méticuleusement cousu de petites perles de verre rouges et blanches sur le texte de loi. Ce « geste » (act) posé par une « Indienne » était une tactique visant à transcender les formes de langages et à affecter les spectateurs de tous les milieux. Parallèlement, Scar Project s’approprie diverses formes de langages – picturaux ou linguistiques – pour explorer le contenu du récit personnel.

L’activiste visuelle Nadia Myre est une Algonquine née à Montréal, au Québec. Elle est diplômée du Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design (1997), à Vancouver et de l’Université Concordia (2002), à Montréal. Elle a participé à de nombreuses expositions, dont The American West, Compton Verney, Warwickshire, au Royaume-Uni (2005); Au fil de mes jours, au Musée National des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec (2005); Skin Deep, or Poetry for the Blind, à la galerie Art Mûr, Montréal, Québec (2004); Fabrics of Change / Trading Identities, à l’Université de Wollongong et à l’Université Flinders, en Australie (2004); Beyond Words, à l’Université Bishops, à Lennoxville, Québec (2004) et à l’Université Mount Saint Vincent, à Halifax (2003); et Cont(r)act, à la galerie Oboro, à Montréal, Québec (2002).

La galerie Tiers Espace invite le grand public au vernissage de l’exposition Nadia Myre : Scar Project le vendredi 10 février 2006, à 18h en présence de l’artiste. Nadia Myre offrira un atelier gratuit le samedi 11 février entre 12h et 16h où les membres du public seront invités à participer directement en partageant les cicatrices de leurs récits personnels sur toile afin de contribuer au Scar Project. La galerie Tiers Espace bénéficie du soutien financier du fonds pour le développement des arts du Secrétariat à la Culture et aux Sports du gouvernement du Nouveau Brunswick.

- 30 -

SOURCE :

Judith Mackin, Punch Productions
Chris Lloyd, directeur artistique
(506) 693-5839
(506) 644-8840

Galerie Tiers Espace / Third Space Gallery
L’édifice Brodie – 42, rue Princess, deuxième étage
Saint Jean, NB E2L 1K2

scar project

2006-01-25T17:23:00.000-04:00

scar project
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

opening friday, February 10 6 PM. Free stitching workshop by Nadia Myre on Saturday, February 11 between 12noon - 4 PM.

nadia myre

TURNING THE TIDE: visionary architecture for Saint John by Colin Turner

2005-12-06T16:10:00.000-04:00

Architectural models and drawings by Colin Turner
December 13 – 23, 2005
Artist presentation and exhibition vernissage Monday, December 12, 6PM FREE

Third Space proposes an exhibition and artist presentation that explore the idea that the construction of an experimental school of sustainable product design and craft on the former Coast Guard site could be vital in the renewal process of the Saint John urban waterfront and surrounding area. Following the announcement that the Hardman Group plans to invest $75 million in the construction of a complex including a hotel, condominiums, educational, commercial and retail spaces on that very site, this project becomes all the more pertinent and timely: Who truly can get involved in defining and implementing a vision for vital downtown and waterfront development? Colin Turner, a recent architecture graduate and Saint-John resident, for his Masters of Architecture thesis, designed his vision of the Coast Guard site of which the maquettes were on display at the Saint John Arts Centre in October of this year.

In unveiling the current Coast Guard project on Monday morning, Bill Hardman, president of the development company, said, “Today is truly a stepping stone for the future of Saint John”. An artist’s rendering of the proposed ten-year redevelopment of the former Saint John Coast Guard site was published in the Telegraph Journal today, December 6, 2005.

In stark contrast to the rather pedestrian and conservative buildings proposed by the Hardman group, visionary architect Turner proposes symbolic architecture of a grand nature, inspiring progress and change in the way we engage our environment through sustainable means. His building takes its fin-like form based on harnessing the natural wind and tidal energies of its immediate environment. It is intended to blend in size and form with the large-scale dynamic elements of the harbour, and it is designed to provide clean energy for itself and portions of the uptown business district.

The contrast between the two projects presents a unique opportunity to engage in a dialogue about urban development, public access to municipal decision-making, innovation and dramatic architecture. The realization of visionary projects grounded in current realities – environment and culture – can only attract investors, students and visitors to a city historically littered by lackluster development projects.

Models and drawings of Turner’s proposed design will be on display at Third Space Gallery from Tuesday, December 13 through to December 23. Colin Turner will give a presentation of his designs on Monday, December 12 at 7PM. Doors open at 6PM. Seating is limited.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Judith Mackin, Punch Productions
Chris Lloyd, Artistic Director
693-5839, 644-8840

Third Space Gallery / Galerie Tiers Espace
The Brodie Building – 42 Princess Street, second floor
Saint John, NB E2L 1K2
W: galerietiersespace.blogspot.com
E: tiersespace@gmail.com

Turning the Tide Gallery Hours:
Tuesday, December 13: 12noon – 6PM
Wednesday – Saturday December 14-17: 3PM – 10 PM
Wednesday – Friday December 21-23: 3PM – 10 PM

Third Space Gallery awarded operating grant from NB

2005-11-04T15:44:00.000-04:00

November 4th, 2005

Saint John’s Third Space Gallery/Galerie Tiers Espace receives $10,000 provincial funding grant for artist run centre

SAINT JOHN NB – Who would have thought that creativity and the visual arts would become such a hot topic in a city best known for its port, refinery and other blue-collar industries? Following closely on the heels of the successful Atlantic Cultural Spaces Conference, where community leaders from across North America discussed the importance of the arts and culture sector in building stronger municipalities, and the opening of the Third Space Gallery, Saint John’s only non profit, artist-run centre devoted to contemporary art, comes news of a significant investment on the part of the province to foster creativity. On Tuesday, November 1 the Honourable Percy Mockler, Minister of Intergovernmental and International Relations and Minister Responsible for the Culture and Sport Secretariat, visited the Third Space Gallery to present a grant of $10,000 to the newly established artist-run centre.

“Making art accessible to the community is an important objective of our Culture Policy and that is why the government of New Brunswick is pleased to be a partner in this initiative,” said Minister Mockler.

Mayor Norman McFarlane and Deputy Mayor Michelle Hooton—who both were instrumental in making the Saint John Arts Policy a reality—were also on hand to show their support.

“The Third Space/Galerie Tiers Espace is a wonderful addition to the vibrant arts community currently happening in Uptown Saint John. There is an exciting trend towards forward thought in this city. The Third Space/Galerie Tiers Espace is further testimony to that!” said Deputy Mayor Michelle Hooton.

The announcement was a welcoming sign for the assembled members of the board of directors of the Third Space Gallery. Chris Lloyd, Artistic Director of the gallery, says “We’re thrilled with this acknowledgement on the part of the province towards recognizing our professional artistic activities. It’s important to recognize exhibition rights and finance our programming accordingly. This money is a big boost.”

The only artist-run centre for contemporary art in Saint John, Third Space Gallery is an interdisciplinary exhibition, performance and production space committed to representing local, regional and national professional contemporary artists. Gallery programming will present art-making of an advanced and critical nature and focus on relationships between artist, artwork and viewer.

In the photograph: From back Left: Joel Butler (Gallery Board Member), Bernard Cormier (Cultural Affairs Officer), Deputy Mayor Michelle Hooton, From front left: Karina van der Linden (Gallery Board Member) Andrea Butler (Gallery Board Member) Honourable Percy Mockler, Chris Lloyd (Artistic Director, Gallery) Suzanne Hill (Board Member) Mayor Norman MacFarlane. Photograph by Peter Smit.

Perhaps in 100 years, 2 nights only

2005-10-30T01:27:00.000-04:00

THIRD SPACE GALLERY presents
"PERHAPS IN A HUNDRED YEARS"
a performance by SMALL WOODEN SHOE

Peformance for 2 nights only!

Thursday + Friday November 3 + 4 | 8pm | Suggested donation $10 |
(limited seating)

A performance about the future, optimism, and maybe being stuck in space. Created and performed by Chad Dembski, Ame Henderson and Jacob
Zimmer, in collaboration with Kilby Smith-McGregor. Conceived and directed by Jacob Zimmer.

Three friends sit in a small room—which may or may not be on a space ship—waiting for their future to arrive. In the meantime they tell stories, sing songs, pass notes, and try to answer some questions. They are surprisingly optimistic, given the conditions outside, armed as they are with cheerful pop songs and over a millennium worth of utopias. The compiling of lists, small and doomed attempts at creating utopia if only for a moment, dancing, lip syncs and quiet beauty all fill the space as our heroes pass some time in the company of an audience.

About the performance:

"There are two kinds of performance: the kind that sucks and the good kind. Perhaps in a Hundred Years is the good kind, a very rare animal. Perhaps in a Hundred Years creates a massive respectful space for contemplation while still managing to be as entertaining as a good make-out session."
- playwright/performer Darren O'Donnell

"I feel privileged to be the witness of something honest, positive, contemplative, current and quietly simple. I leave the white room inspired. I would watch this piece again in a heartbeat. I sincerely hope that others will have a chance to see it."
- director Brendan Healy

We gratefully acknowledge our tour partners: Khyber Centre for the Arts, Third Space Gallery, and The Canada Council for the Arts. PHY was created in partnership with Candid Stammer Theatre and with the support of the Toronto Arts Council.

For more information and to reserve tickets: 693-5839 / 644-8840
info@smallwoodenshoe.org |http://www.smallwoodenshoe.org

Galerie Tiers-Espace / Third Space Gallery
Brodie Building | 42 Princess Street | second floor | Saint John, NB | E2L 1K2
Tel: 506.693.5839 / 506.644.8840 | E: tiersespace@gmail.com
W: galerietiersespace.blogspot.com

Contact: Chris Lloyd, Artistic Director

Ce qui m'obsède - essai

2005-10-20T12:33:00.000-03:00

Plusieurs artistes contemporains choisissent de travailler avec des médiums non conventionnels afin d’approfondir la relation de leurs œuvres avec le monde duquel elles sont issues. Ils adoptent souvent des stratégies sérielles visant à éclairer ou commenter certains aspects du monde qui les entoure. Ce qui m’obsède veut faire prendre conscience de la surabondance des objets ou des images qui s’imposent à nous au quotidien. L’approche adoptée par les quatre artistes pose une tautologie entre l’origine des matériaux et leur transformation en un objet d’art poétique par l’entremise de la répétition, geste reflet la nature obsessive du collectionneur et, dans une certaine mesure, l’impulsion créatrice.

L’exposition propose quatre installations murales par les artistes canadiens Donna Akrey, Kristiina Lahde, Lisa Lipton et Jérôme Fortin. Pour chacun d’entre eux, le monde est un atelier où ils colligent des matériaux bruts et des concepts dans le tissu du quotidien. Ils privilégient tous la répétition d’un motif qui joue un rôle déterminant dans la facture de l’œuvre, que ce soit l’autoportrait d’un homme d’affaires, une épingle, des bouteilles de plastique ou un feuillet autocollant. La symbolique joue ici à la fois sur le phénomène de la surconsommation, l’éthique de travail nord-américaine ou les effets de l’abondance.

Comme plusieurs artistes, Donna Akrey, occupe un emploi de jour en plus de sa pratique artistique : elle est factrice pour Postes Canada à Calgary. Au fil de ses rondes, elle s’est mise à cumuler une quantité importante du prospectus d’un agent immobilier distribué abondamment dans la ville, dont la photo figure en gros plan sur le recto. Minutieusement, elle a découpé maintes fois la silhouette du personnage pour en faire le motif répétitif de l’œuvre Business Mandala (2005). Les hommes d’affaires y deviennent des présences muettes placées dans la grande forme circulaire, symbole de méditation dans certaines religions asiatiques. Akrey a fait du mandala un objet sensible en se servant de son système pour toucher la conscience de ses concitoyens. La photo de cet agent immobilier, détachée de son contexte, s’oublie dans la répétition méthodologique. L’artiste intervient dans le cours de la circulation de l’information : elle exploite une image obsessive qu’elle élève au rang d’objet de culte, créant un univers contemplatif qui questionne la surdose d’information et les concepts connexes de valeur et de propriété.

Kristiina Lahde adopte une stratégie similaire en utilisant une quantité étonnante d’un même article, soit des feuillets autocollants. Au quotidien on trouve cette note jaune, dotée d’ubiquité, collée sur le réfrigérateur ou le miroir de la salle de bain, portant ce message d’amour : I love you. Mais l’artiste transforme la nature éphémère du feuillet pour l’apposer mécaniquement au mur selon une grille calculée. Quel rôle joue le message dans la répétition? La forme, elle aussi répétée à perte de vue, se confond au décor. Cette œuvre évoque à la fois le supplice de Pénélope, l’ennui, l’oubli et le vide qui se créent dans l’abondance, où ils se font souvent plus prégnants que dans l’absence. On peut tracer un parallèle avec la pléthore de stimulations visuelles auxquelles nous sommes soumis dans les villes, qui se perdent dans leur propre abondance. L’obsession de I love you (1998) est celle du vertige qui existe entre le vide et le trop-plein.

Jérôme Fortin, pour créer les oeuvres de la série Marines (St-Jean-Port-Joli 3, 2001), a recueilli des bouteilles de plastique vides échouées le long des berges du fleuve Saint-Laurent, qu’il a regroupées selon le format ou la couleur, puis méthodiquement éventrées au scalpel dans une opération d’incision précise. Les langues de bouteilles ont ensuite été aplaties et agrafées au mur en forme de cercle. À la dérive dans le fleuve, les composantes des Marines ont graduellement perdu le sens de leur fonction originale : elles ont été polies et poncées par la nature et, fixées au mur d’une galerie, leur nouvelle forme rappelle vaguement les anciens diagrammes de planètes. Ces « planètes » inconnues nous renvoient instinctivement à la nôtre, que nous remplissons d’objets non biodégradables tout en détruisant ses ressources non renouvelables. L’œuvre, qui détourne la fonction des rebuts du quotidien, porte le flambeau d’un acte de résistance.

L’approche de Lisa Lipton est sans doute la plus lyrique. Sur un grand mur peint en noir, elle appose côte à côte des épinglettes à tête blanche qui forment l’image d’un être imaginaire. Si lost me hand before the door (2005) fait une référence directe au dessin dans la liberté du trait guidé par l’imaginaire, la technique n’est pas sans rappeler le pointillisme des anciens laboratoires de biologie. Lipton morcelle la technique du dessin et déconstruit l’image, point par point. Elle fait du mur un terrain de jeu animé d’étranges éléments d’imagerie visuelle et poétiques, qui évoquent l’interprétation mythologique des constellations visant à expliquer la présence des éléments astronomiques à une ère où la science ne connaissait pas les réponses aux questions soulevées. La répétition obsessive du geste crée une œuvre où le sujet compte moins que la forme.

La juxtaposition de ces quatre œuvres soulève la question de valeur. La démarche laborieuse nécessaire à la réalisation de chacune d’entre elles exige une méthodologie rigoureuse. Les artistes emploient tous des stratégies de répétition pour détourner les objets du quotidien de leur fonction originale afin d’exercer une métamorphose tant sémantique que physique de ceux-ci. Ces objets, qui nous sollicitent sans cesse à l’action, donnent maintenant lieu à une contemplation méditative.

Au-delà de ses implications idéologiques, cette démarche de répétition s’apparente à un comportement obsessif. Accompagnée de ses assistants, Lisa Lipton, a passé des journées entières à apposer plus de 15 000 épinglettes au mur; Kristiina Lahde, d’une main régulière et assurée, a écrit ces I love you monotones; Jérôme Fortin, a minutieusement taillé au scalpel les bouteilles de plastique rigide; enfin, Donna Akrey a découpé la silhouettes de 500 hommes d’affaires identiques. Une obsession, organisée et systématisée, peut-elle s’apprivoiser, ou continue-t-elle à procurer un sentiment de vertige, de manque de repères?

Au cours des derniers mois, lorsque le temps est venu de choisir les artistes qui participeraient à la première exposition, il a inévitablement fallu tenir compte du fait qu’il s’agissait d’un nouvel espace alternatif non commercial à Saint Jean. Il y a avait énormément de rénovations à faire dans la galerie avant de pouvoir y présenter des œuvres, et nous n’avions aucune idée du temps qu’il faudrait pour préparer l’espace adéquatement. Les paramètres du processus de sélection ont été posés en fonction d’œuvres éphémères : des matériaux légers, faciles à entreposer et à acheminer par la poste, dont l’installation serait parfois longue, mais facile. Il est devenu clair, après quelques recherches, que nous devrions choisir des artistes dont l’atelier est l’entourage immédiat, et qui trouvent l’inspiration nécessaire pour créer un travail dont la démarche sert à transformer les matériaux les plus banals en des œuvres d’art intelligentes et stimulantes.

Chris Lloyd
Commissaire et directeur
Adaptation : Claudine Hubert

Je tiens à remercier les bénévoles Meg Barton et Erin Bateman, les généreux propriétaires du Brodie Building, Peter Smit et Judith Mackin, ainsi que Claudine Hubert, pour la traduction. Merci aux membres du conseil d’asministration de la galerie tiers espace : Judith Mackin, Suzanne Hill, Karine van der Linden, Janet Scott, Andrea Butler, Joel Butler et Jake van der Laan. Enfin, merci les photographes par Peter Smit, Cornelius Heesters et Jack Hill.

À propos des artistes:

Donna Akrey vient tout juste de déménager de Calgary à Montréal. Au cours de la dernière année, son oeuvre Business Mandala a été exposée à Vancouver et à Saint John’s, Terre-Neuve. Elle est diplômée des universités Simon Fraser et Concordia et a obtenu son diplôme de maîtrise en beaux-arts du collège NSCAD. Jérôme Fortin vit et travaille à Montréal, où il est représenté par la galerie Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain. Il est diplômé de l’Université du Québec à Montréal. Kristiina Lahde a obtenu son baccalauréat en beaux-arts de NSCAD ainsi qu’un diplôme en conservation et gestion des collections du collège Sir Sandford Fleming, à Peterborough. Elle vit et travaille à Toronto. Lisa Lipton a récemment obtenu son diplôme de baccalauréat de NSCAD, à Halifax et elle pousuit actuellement des études de maîtrise en beaux-arts à Windsor, en Ontario.

You're My Obsession - essay

2005-10-20T12:28:00.000-03:00

You’re my Obsession features wall-based installations by four artists from across the country. Donna Akrey, Jérôme Fortin, Kristiina Lahde and Lisa Lipton each utilize found objects as a vehicle for creating art. In the treating the world as a studio, inspiration and raw materials are drawn from the everyday. In this particular grouping of artists it is the obsessive repetition of a single motif which determines the final shape and dimension to the artwork, whether this be a salesman, a sewing pin, a plastic bottle or a Post-it® note. The approach taken by these four artists investigates the tautology between the origins of the materials and their transformation into art. The repetitive actions reflect the obsessive nature of the collector as they reveal the creative impulse.

Many contemporary artists choose to work with non-traditional materials to emphasize a stronger correlation to the world we all live in and share. Materials drawn from daily life brings attention to concepts lived in the everyday as well as draws a tighter connection between art and life. Many artists use materials and incorporate a language drawn directly from the immediate world around us, and utilize strategies of seriality and repetition as emphasis or to comment on our mechanized, computerized, post-modern world. In collecting and utilizing large numbers of everyday items, they ask us to consider the sheer amount of stuff that surrounds us. When empty bottles wash up on shores, they are often devoid of any message but of consumerism and waste. Junk mail we often throw away or recycle without even reading it. Post-it® notes leave temporary messages and are discarded. Pins hold a hem until it is sewed. In this exhibition there exists a tautology between the banal origins of the material and its final form as something beautiful and poetic. Art isn’t always a creation; most often, it is a transformation.

Donna Akrey, like many of her peers, is not only an artist, but she also has a day job, that of postal worker. It was her day job that gave rise to her 2005 Business Mandala, in which she took hundreds of flyers made by a real estate agent in Calgary, cut out his photograph and used the repeated image to form a giant mandala, a circular pattern used in many eastern religions as a symbol of worship. Akrey successfully intervenes in the normal exchange of information and uses an obsessive methodology to transform a banal image into an elevated form of worship. In using his own picture on the flyer, the Calgary real estate agent hopes that his image will create a sense of familiarity with potential buyers. By taking his image out of context and repeating it hundreds of times in the mandala shape, the businessman has been reduced to pattern. An iconic symbol of consumerism becomes a meditative cog in the wheel of Akrey’s universe, and prompts us to consider the saturation of advertising in our lives and where it is we truly place value.

Kristiina Lade also employs a similar strategy of using many of a single, simple item, in this case, a 3-M Post-it® note. This ubiquitous note always carries a message, hastily scrawled or neatly printed: phone numbers, buy milk, etc. Sometimes it might be left at a bedside table or on a fridge or a phone for a loved one to stumble across: I love you. A profound, often deeply moving statement for one to make to make to another. In this case the artist has written the intimate message thousands of times, repeated and arranged the notes in a mechanical, grid-like fashion, filling an entire wall. Does the repetition serve to enhance or diminish the message? Is this the patient voice of a Penelope awaiting her love or the insistent, empty noise of advertising, of obsession? The obsession inherent in I love you (1998) exists between the vacuum of nothingness and the oppressive weight of too much.

To create his Marines (St-Jean-Port-Joli 3, 2001), series, Jérôme Fortin strolled the along the beaches of St-Jean-Port-Joli in Québec while participating at a residency program, collecting plastic bottles that had washed ashore. He then grouped them according to type or colour, then sliced them open with a thin, continuous incision. Next they are stretched and stapled to the wall in the shape of a circle. The components of the Marines have lived a previous life before undertaking their adventure through the waters of the St. Laurent, where they were buoyed and bounced along waves and rocks and mud and grass, polished and shaped by nature. Installed in a gallery, sliced to ribbons and stretched to a wall their shape makes me think of lush, full-colour diagrams of planets, or perhaps seaweed or grasses laid on a beach to dry in the sun. Fortin’s Marines, passing through a systematic process that turns everyday waste into art, travel ‘full circle’, and present a story of our own planet, full of non-biodegradable junk, containers, and landfills.

The most lyrical use of everyday materials comes from Lisa Lipton. A large wall painted black becomes a ground for a full scale drawing installation titled lost me hand before the door. In a manner not unlike that found in a high school biology lab, Lipton utilizes the white headed sewing pin as one might employ the stippling technique to render form and outline to biological specimens. The subject matter closely relates to the method of drawing as mythological beasts emerge, taking charge of the gallery space. This is Alice in Wonderland meets the Teletubbies and they have a wonderful, surreal adventure on Sesame Street. Lipton transforms the wall into a psychic playground, ripe with bizarre visual imagery, playful and poetic. The tradition of biological drawing, the stippling most often used to give accuracy to observed specimens, is here employed to render the imagination.

Apparent throughout all these works is the element and value of labour; notably, the use of repetitive labour. There is required an obsessive amount of labour for each of these pieces. Lisa Lipton and her assistants spent days sticking the close to 15,000 pins into the wall to form her drawing; Kristiina Lahde must have given herself carpel tunnel in writing out 2400 “I love you”s; Jérôme Fortin spent countless hours cutting apart hundreds of plastic bottles and Donna Akrey was equally obsessive in cutting out over 500 salesmen. What drives these artists to go to such lengths? Perhaps it is the merging of compulsion and creativity. We can see in these works the value of time, of labour, and appreciate the aesthetics of newly claimed forms. We can also see these works as new modes of expression that take elements from our daily surroundings and imbue them with new meaning, creating a dialogue and commentary on contemporary life.

My thinking surrounding the selection of these artists was very much tied to the idea of re-opening an alternative, non-commercial gallery in Saint John. One element was practicality: The gallery needed renovations to adequately support the display or any artwork, and we had no idea how extensive or how long the renovations would be. I placed parameters on my selection process that charged that the work would be almost ephemeral; lightweight materials, easy to ship and store, installation that would perhaps be laborious (obsessive?), but not difficult to achieve with a little instruction. Given that this was the first exhibition in the new space and our budget practically non-existent, shipping large artworks at high cost was downright impossible. More importantly, perhaps, was to provide a selection of work by artists who work very much in the world, where both materials and inspiration are drawn from the everyday, where the world becomes both a living space and a studio workspace, where the third space becomes the magical process of transformation that turns such banality into fun, thoughtful, playful, and fabulous works of art.

-Chris Lloyd
Artistic Director

Special thanks to volunteers Meg Barton and Erin Bateman, as well as generous Brodie Building owners Peter Smit and Judith Mackin, and translator Claudine Hubert. Thanks also to the Third Space Gallery board members: Judith Mackin, Suzanne Hill, Karina van der Linden, Janet Scott, Andrea Butler, Joel Butler, and Jake van der Laan. Thanks to Cornelius Heesters, Jack Hill and Peter Smit for photo documentation.

The Artists:

Donna Akrey recently re-located from Calgary to Montréal. This year she exhibited Business Mandala in Vancouver and in St. John’s, NF. She studied at Simon Fraser University, Concordia (BFA) and received her MFA from NSCAD. Jérôme Fortin lives and works in Montréal and is represented by Pierrre Ouellette Art Contemporain. He studied at UQAM. Kristiina Lahde received her BFA from NSCAD and a Collections Conservation and Management Diploma from Sir Sandford Fleming College, Peterborough and currently lives and works in Toronto. Lisa Lipton recently moved from Halifax, where she received her BFA from NSCAD, to Windsor, ON to pursue her MFA.

Business Mandala

2005-10-20T12:27:00.000-03:00

Business Mandala
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

St-Jean-Port-Joli #3

2005-10-20T12:25:00.001-03:00

St-Jean-Port-Joli #3
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

I love you

2005-10-20T12:25:00.000-03:00

I love you
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

Opening Night

2005-10-20T12:24:00.000-03:00

Opening Night
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

Opening Night

2005-10-19T16:41:00.000-03:00

opener-with-shakra
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

The opening of You're my obsession on October 14, 2005 was a great success! Thanks to all who took part in the Gallery Hop and filled the gallery—we were packed to capacity for over two hours straight. Special thanks to Erin Bateman and Meg Barton for help with installation and renovations, Peter and Judy for all their hard work and dedication to the building and the arts, and Michelle Hooton for inspiring opening remarks. Crowd photograph by Cornelius Heesters.

GRAND OPENING OCTOBER 14 2005 FREE

2005-10-06T11:35:00.000-03:00

français suivante

Artist and curator Chris Lloyd returns to Saint John after a 9-year absence to direct Saint John’s only artist-run, alternative contemporary art centre, Third Space Gallery, formerly known as The Space. Third Space Gallery will be an open and interdisciplinary space committed to representing local, regional, and national professional contemporary artists through exhibitions, performances, residencies and discussion series. Gallery programming will focus on art-making of an advanced and critical nature that highlights relationships between artist, viewer and artwork.

You’re my obsession
Presented by:
third space gallery
October 14 – 30 2005

You’re my Obsession features wall-based installations by four artists from across the country. Donna Akrey, Jérôme Fortin, Kristiina Lahde and Lisa Lipton each utilize found objects as a vehicle for creating art. In the treating the world as a studio, inspiration and raw materials are drawn from the everyday. In this particular grouping of artists it is the obsessive repetition of a single motif which determines the final shape and dimension to the artwork, whether this be a salesman, a sewing pin, a plastic bottle or a Post-it® note. This exhibition speaks to the commodification of time and society and the value inherent in work.

An opening reception, part of the final Gallery Hop of 2005, will occur Friday, October 14 beginning at 6 PM. Opening remarks by Deputy Mayor of Saint John Michelle Hooton and Third Space Gallery Artistic Director Chris Lloyd will commence at 7PM. All are welcome to attend.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Judith Mackin, Punch Productions
Chris Lloyd, Artistic Director
693-5839; 644-8840

Third Space Gallery / Galerie Tiers Espace
The Brodie Building – 42 Princess Street
Saint John, NB E2L 1K2
Tel: 693-5839
E: tiersespace@gmail.com
W: galerietiersespace.blogspot.com

OUVERTURE D'UN NOUVEAU CENTRE D'ARTISTES AUTOGÉRÉ À SAINT JEAN, NB

OUVERTURE OFFICIELLE ET VERNISSAGE LE 14 OCTOBRE / GRATUIT

Chris Lloyd, artiste et commissaire d'expositions, est de retour à Saint Jean, après neuf années d'absence, pour occuper la direction de l'unique centre d'art contemporain alternatif autogéré par des artistes de la ville, la galerie Tiers-espace, anciennement connu sous le nom The Space. La galerie Tiers-espace, lieu ouvert et interdisciplinaire, s'engage à représenter les artistes contemporains professionnels issus des milieux régional et national en intégrant des expositions, des performances, des résidences d'artistes et un programme de communications d'artistes. La galerie préparera sa programmation en fonction de pratiques artistiques de nature critique qui mettent en relief la relation entre l'artiste, le spectateur et l'œuvre.

Ce qui m’obsède
presentée par:
galerie tiers-espace
14 – 30 octobre 2005

L'exposition Ce qui m'obsède propose quatre installations murales par les artistes canadiens Donna Akrey, Kristiina Lahde, Lisa Lipton et Jérôme Fortin. Chacun d'entre eux s'inspire de son entourage immédiat, qui devient l'atelier où puiser inspiration et matériaux. Que ce soit à partir de la photo d'un homme d'affaires, d'épinglettes à tête sphérique, de bouteilles de plastique ou de notes autocollantes Post-It®, c'est la répétition du motif qui détermine la forme finale de l'œuvre. Ce qui m'obsède pose un regard sur la fonctionnalité du temps et de la société par le biais du détournement du sens et du mandat d'objets du quotidien et, ce faisant, explore la notion de la valeur inhérente à l'œuvre d'art.

Une réception d'ouverture aura lieu lors du dernier "Gallery Hop" de l'année le vendredi 14 octobre, dès 18h. Les discours de Mme Michelle Hooton, Maire Supplánte de la ville de Saint Jean, et Chris Lloyd, directeur artistique, auront lieu à 19h. Ouvert à tous.

POUR PLUS D’INFORMATIONS ENTREZ EN CONTACTER:

Judith Mackin, Punch Productions
Chris Lloyd, Artistic Director
693-5839; 644-8840

Galerie Tiers Espace / Third Space Gallery
L’ediface Brodie – 42 rue Princess, deuzieme étage
Saint Jean, NB E2L 1K2
Tel: 693-5839
E: tiersespace@gmail.com
W: galerietiersespace.blogspot.com

You're my obsession / Ce qui m'obsède

2005-10-05T09:35:00.000-03:00

obsession
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

2005-09-25T22:14:00.000-03:00

gallery view: south
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

GRAND OPENING

2005-09-16T15:38:00.000-03:00

Galerie Tiers-Espace / Third Space Gallery will launch a new era of contemporary art exhibitions with the grand opening of You're My Obsession as part of the local Gallery Hop on October 14. The exhibition features work by Donna Akrey, Kristiina Lahde, Lisa Lipton and Jérôme Fortin and is curated by Chris Lloyd.

lisa lipton

2005-09-16T15:27:00.000-03:00

lisa-lipton
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

Partial view of the wall-based drawing installation comprised of close to 15,000 white-headed sewing pins. Part of the innaugural You're my Obsession exhibition opening October 14 2005.

northeast-wall

2005-09-16T15:24:00.000-03:00

northeast-wall
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

A view towards the front of the building with our gallery mascot, Untitled Pink Bear, under the window to the left. The office door is closed because the office is full of nasty junk.

southwest-wall

2005-09-16T15:23:00.000-03:00

southwest-wall
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

The gallery has been painted, the window shades installed, the lighting tracks added and the floors mopped (a few times!) Just waiting on baseboards, then installing the rest of the first show, You're My Obsession, which will be open for a sneak preview during the ACS Conference September 30-October 2. The Grand Opening will take place during the next Saitn John Gallery Hop, October 14 2005.

brodie building with third space galerie tiers espace

2005-08-12T14:38:00.000-03:00

brodie building-gallery
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

42 Princess Street in (often) foggy Saint John, NB. The Gallery is located on the second floor, above Lemongrass restaurant.

New view: North

2005-08-12T14:37:00.001-03:00

New view: North
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

The main exhibition space, looking north towards the front of the building, after the dividing wall has been removed. The windows on this side are original and much larger. Note the original tin ceilings and crown moldings.

New view: South

2005-08-12T14:37:00.000-03:00

New view: South
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

The main exhibition space, looking south, after the middle dividing wall has been removed. The wall and windows were replaced in the '80s when the City of Saint John owned the building. The door to the right, currently the main entrance to the gallery, might soon be covered up to make for more wall space.

icky floor

2005-08-11T13:29:00.000-03:00

icky floor
Originally uploaded by gallery tiers espace / third space gallery.

The trickiest job this past week has been removing the glue and paper that was overtop the original hardwood floors. After scraping off as much as possible, water is added to loosen the remaining glue and then the substance is repeatedly scraped away. The resulting paste is gooey like thick molasses and has a colour that best resembles baby poop. Lovely.

j'arrive!

2005-08-05T14:58:00.000-03:00

Arrived in Saint John today to look over the gallery space. The floors need some tile ripped up and I think a wall should come down that divides the two front rooms. The ceilings and molding are original tin and there are two great walk-in safes that connect behind a wall as if a secret passage; lots of fun can be had here. A couple walls need some work but we should be able to have the gallery presentable for the first show sometime in September. Set up the blog and email. Pictures will come soon.