re_contexualized

Saturday August 29, in Vancouver, BC at the Pacificthorn showroom and studio,

48hours of time is allotted to 3 artists to transform a space into a land impaired with time or absence there of.

Featuring:
Kang Ya-chu
Christian Nicolay
Brian Kent Gotro




With entrance to the showroom off one of the busiest sections of E. Hastings, it is easy to see that a serious shine has been added to the neighborhood.
The space for the show is only twice the size of my office but three elaborate installations seem to be firmly suspended at the end of a thought.

Show curator and participating artist, Christian Nicolay sprawls an array of drawings and curious artifacts along the main wall.










Stamped, stitched and painted post cards on cardboard line the walls as part of Kang Ya-chu's instillation. 








As a complete flip to the subtle crafty creations, Ya-chu designed a sort of inflated cross house with dangling tent pegs yearning for an assisted pull into the cross shaped grass directly below. 

I'm not sure how it happened but at some point I had this guys camera and took a ton of photos. Hey dude, I'd like to see them...send them over when you get a chance.

The third artist featured in this is exhibit was Brian Ken Gotro.

Interacting with art is always a win, especially in such a unique way where you believe you are changing an image by pushing buttons, but really, you're just making a bunch of loud noises with absolutely no connection to the video loop in front of you. After several confusing minutes, Brian took pity on me and let me in on his sneaky instillation

Brian's second instillation hosts the innards of old t.v.s with just enough electronic elements to play a looped video with dramatic motions of an arm/fist in slow rotation reveals its eventual peril.

Another great highlight of this show was the spontaneous presence of a couple of Vancouver's fine police officers. As guests looked around to see if there was a problem, one of the constables asked facilitator, Neal Nolan, for some art supplies. Recovering some tape and paint, the constable proceeded to make an addition to one of the existing collages that was placed in the back of the studio.

This show was simply complex and intricate with proof of their collaborative contemporary backgrounds. As this was my first time viewing a show at Pacificthorn, I was incredibly impressed in the way the dynamics of the space became so versatile. I had visited the showroom/studio earlier in the week and was unsure of how a full on art show with installations could be pulled off but after this 'smaller' show, I am looking forward to more events here in the future.

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