IGNITION

PHILIPPE HAMELIN
JACINTHE LESSARD-L.
MICHELE PERESS
ANNA SPRAGUE
CHARLES STANKIEVECH
JANE TINGLEY

December 1, 2005 - January 7, 2006

The Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery presents IGNITION, our annual exhibition of advanced Masters students from Concordia’s Studio Arts programme. This 2nd edition features work by six artists whose practices include photography, video, film, sculpture and installation in an in-depth exploration of the formal and conceptual language of their materials.

Using video and film footage as points of departure, Philippe Hamelin and Charles Stankievech reconfigure the mechanics and materiality of these mediums, resulting in unexpected interpretations of the moving image. The notion of home and the conflict between freedom and limitation are central to the works of Jacinthe Lessard-L. and Anna Sprague. In her photographic works, Lessard-L.’s subjects are asked to create unique sculptures from standardized pieces of IKEA furniture. Conversely, in her videos Lessard-L. demonstrates how the human gesture becomes standardized as a generic chair is faithfully assembled. Sprague’s time-based video offers a meditative view on the passage of time and the complex relationships of family, home and place. An image of a floating raft at sea plays with the concepts of tide and tied as they relate to the tension between fluid and static states. Jane Tingley and Michele Peress create complex forms that reference the body, organic forms and our sense of touch. Tingley’s installation uses traditional weaving techniques to create a complex matrix of woven strings that replicate and abstract the human nervous system, while Peress explores non-traditional materials such as human hair, in the creation of both realistic and abstract forms.

The works featured in this edition of IGNITION were selected by Eduardo Ralickas and Michèle Thériault.

The Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery‘s contemporary exhibition program is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.

  

Philippe Hamelin, Video Stars,
DVD image, 2005.

Jacinthe Lessard-L, from the
seriesTwo minutes sculptures,
Maquette, 2005

Michele Peress, Rabbit #1 & #2,
styrofoam, steel wool, wire,
thread, human hair, 2005.

Anna Sprague, tied between:
a raft trap, DVD image, 2005.


Charles Stankievech, Zeno's
Phantasies, Film Installation,
16mm B/W film, modified 16mm
analytic projector, computer,
custom software, light table,
found screen, 2005.

Jane Tingley, Body;thricobotria,
Installation, bobbin weave, string,
2005.