This is the title of the show that opened at Surrey Art Gallery last Saturday. Artists Alex McLeod and Brendan Tang are featured, each with several pieces and then with an amazing collaborative installation: ‘Lovechild’. Rather than try to explain this augmented reality application I’ll steal the description from their brochure by guest curator Rachel Rosenfield Lafo.
“The installation consists of several components. A ceramic vessel by Tang is displayed on a pedestal in the TechLab. A live shot of the vessel (and also the image of a person in the gallery) feeds into a computer which overlays it with Alex McLeod’s computer-generated animation, and then projects the combined images on the gallery wall. This melding of the real and the virtual offers a new way for viewers to interface with an object in a gallery setting, without the need for a smartphone or other device. To further expand this meditation on material culture, Tang deliberately mimics museum displays of broken pottery fragments by making his Lovechild vessel an incomplete object. Yet instead of ‘completing’ the vessel with a didactic augmentation, McLeod’s imaginative overlay offers a new narrative that transforms the static object into a living, breathing organism.”
You really need to stand quietly in this darkened room, try to ignore the fact that you will be part of the projection and enjoy the fantastic graphic creation these two guys have created. The opening was busy so to appreciate the individual works and this collaboration going later is a good idea.
Brendan has found a home, a studio and two part-time teaching positions while setting up this and other shows. He will teach courses at Kwantlen and Langara this semester.
Alex McLeod (who was too busy chatting with fans for me to grab him for a photo) was born in Ontario in 1984 and is a graduate of Ontario College of Art & Design. Already he has an impressive resume and is a Canadian artist to watch.
A second show features ceramic artist Dirk Staschke and Clint Neufeld. I’ll post some photos of their work soon.
Also showing at Surrey Art Gallery are ceramic pieces from their collection and several of the artists were there, including Tam Irving and Sally Michener.
Surrey AG is continuing their tradition of being the Lower Mainland’s primary gallery for showing the best of local ceramics. The three shows are well worth the trip there.
