Exhibition: 9 June – 23 July 2023
Opening Reception: Friday 9 June, 7-9PM
Artist Talk: Sunday, 11 June @ 3PM
Catalogue launch: Saturday, 22 July @ 3 PM
Pat Martin Bates Gallery
1800 Store Street (wheelchair accessible)
Wednesday to Sunday, 12 to 5 pm
by donation: $2 – $20
Victoria Arts Council is excited to present this solo exhibition by local artist Alison Bigg working in sculpture, installation, and printmaking. In her latest work, Bigg assembles aurical devices using found objects and 3-D printing to help the viewers experience their senses more fully. In her printmaking work, Bigg speaks about language and communication using multiple layers and techniques. She questions the difference between hearing and listening, how we listen but don’t always hear, a result of an overload of information in the digital age.
Over the last six years I have been losing my hearing due to otosclerosis. I am deaf in my left ear and quickly losing the hearing in my right. As a response to my hearing loss, Auricals [artist’s word] is about the importance of communication and the difference between hearing and listening. Auricals is a collection of tools needed to slow down and amplify listening, allowing us to absorb more of what is important to hear. These tools transport us from a digital to an analog age when the amount of information to hear was tractable. – Alison Bigg
Bigg’s found object sculptures are made up of collected elements from thrift stores and junk yards that have been rescued, assembled, and given new purpose and meaning, which have been embellished with 3-D printed elements. The shapes of the objects collected are reminiscent of the early analog hearing aids before the digital age. Each assemblage is a different communication tool. It may be for critical listening, used as hearing aides, an information filter, or a sound amplifier. It is up to the viewer to ‘guess’ what each tool might be used for, inviting the audience to collaborate, creating an aspect of imaginative playfulness and curiosity.
An accompanying limited edition artistbook will be published by FLASK. This hand-printed book, with 3D printed cover and box, will be available for purchase during the exhibition.
This project is generously funded by BC Arts Council’s IMPACT Grant, as well as the Canada Council for the Arts / Arts Across Canada program. VAC recognizes the ongoing support of the Province of British Columbia, BC Arts Council, CRD Arts Commission, and our Members.
___________________________
Auricals catalogue launch
Marking the final days of Alison Bigg’s solo exhibition, Auricals, the VAC is excited to launch a catalogue that documents this project.
Designed by artist and former VAC staff, Leah McInnis, with contributions by poet Rhonda Ganz, artist and education Regan Rasmussen, and exhibition curator Kegan McFadden, this limited edition book will be available for pre-order.
Please join us Saturday 22 July @3PM for the launch of Auricals,
Kegan McFadden will introduce the project and Rhonda Ganz will offer a reading followed by electronic music by @ron_montreal.
Auricals, 6″ x 6″
50 full colour pages
edition of 150
$25 each (advance copies)
Alison Bigg is an interdisciplinary artist working in the traditional territories of the Lekwungen people, otherwise known as Victoria, BC. She graduated from the Emily Carr College of Art and Design, has had several solo exhibits in BC and has received funding from the City of Victoria, the BC Arts Council, and the Canada Council for the Arts.
Working with sculpture, installation, printmaking, and ceramics, Bigg starts a conversation with her audience about new ways to navigate this quickly changing and information-saturated world. She offers the viewers fresh ways to experience the world by sparking a sense of curiosity using humour and irony.
In her latest work, Bigg assembles aurical devices using found objects and 3-D printing to help the viewers experience their senses more fully. In her printmaking work, Bigg speaks about language and communication using multiple layers and techniques. She questions the difference between hearing and listening, how we listen but don’t always hear, a result of an overload of information in the digital age.