New exhibition,The Movement of Being, is the culmination of a month-long inquiry process exploring the distortions generated in memory, interpretation, and the visual translation of one’s inner geography.
The Movement of Being at the Emerging Artist Gallery
Location: Jacobson Hall, TWU Langley campus (22500 University Dr, Langley, BC)
Exhibition Dates: March 20–April 25, 2022
Opening Date: March 31, 2022 | 6:15–7:30pm
About the exhibition
With words by Russell Leng, SAMC Instructor in Art + Design
The exhibition The Movement of Being is the culmination of a month-long inquiry process exploring the distortions generated in memory, interpretation, and the visual translation of one’s inner geography. The exhibition is a collaboration between the Jacobson Emerging Artist Gallery and Russell Leng’s ART 321: Abstract Painting class.
To begin, the class workshopped how paper-cutting can be used to link the sensory perceptions of movement with abstract imagery. Some artists chose to incorporate or leave traces of this visible in their exhibition work, while others have rerouted back to painting or pursued new visual approaches altogether such as ready-made sculpture or printmaking. Though students started from a similar vantage point, the malleability of concepts and materials has been upheld, resulting in a substantial work that incorporates personal reflection on spiritual, emotional, or social topics.
Jenna Neumann created a hanging installation of colourful “memory maps” of her childhood. During the making of her work, Mapping Childhood, Jenna translated feelings and memories from her childhood into form and colour. “Each map is unique in its own way, covered in bright colours with various patterns carefully drawn onto each one, with acrylic paint,” she explains in her artist statement. “By doing this, I wanted to capture the fun experience of childhood.”
After creating the memory maps, Jenna then suspended the pieces in midair, allowing viewers to walk beneath the artwork and experience a sense of nostalgia. She hopes that her artwork inspires viewers “to remember the maps from their own childhoods that hold a special meaning to them.”
In My Glass Friend, Abigail Broadhurst used acrylic sheets to create different layers of a personal mental landscape. As she explains, each transparent panel represents a different genre of thought; together, the layers form an inner conversation. “Mental health is kind of a hot topic nowadays,” Abigail comments on the meaning of her artwork, “Many people just see through it until you stop to take the time to look at it, and then you see the whole picture adding up.”
As part of the process, Abigail journaled her own thoughts, recording feelings that were positive, anxious, negative or irrational, and ones grounded in grace and understanding. The outcome, My Glass Friend, is a visual representation of her inner journey.
Mojgan Mirzapouralamdari painted a set of two acrylic pieces on canvas, titled Vague Freedom. The two panels contrast with one another in colour and mood, and together represent Mojgan’s journey in recent months. “It was a confusing and stressful time, [I experienced] anxiety… I just want to bring this painting to show that [despite] those feelings, you can let your stress and anxiety go and have a moment of freedom,” she said.
Mojgan writes in her artist statement, “Confusion is badly intertwined with me, but it is time to let go of this bondage and confusion. I am finally released, showing the contradiction between captivity and liberation.”
To accompany the paintings, she wrote a poem that begins with the sadness of being in captivity and moves towards freedom and a new life chapter.
Participating Artists (ART 321/421 Class)
Chelsea Bradshaw
Abby Broadhurst
Rincy D'Silva
June Yejun Lee
Mojgan Mirzapouralamdari
Jenna Neumann
Janelle Ryan
Simon Shackelford
Amelia Thorpe
Zaeya Winter
Lina Rongkun Zhao
Shuwen Cao
Riley Wiebe
About ART 321: Abstract Painting
Abstract Painting provides an in-depth look at the integration of theory and practice surrounding historical and contemporary abstract painting. Art elements and principles, particularly colour, are used with increasing specificity and intentionality. Students investigate how aesthetic choices realized on a canvas reveal the artist’s position within art, culture, and political history.
About School of the Arts, Music + Culture (SAMC) at Trinity Western University
Trinity Western's SAMC is home to some of the most collaborative people on campus. Professors are people of faith and experts in their fields who are committed to seeing you thrive. As your mentors, they will build a safe and welcoming space where you will be challenged to take bold steps, explore ideas of faith and meaning, and push the boundaries of your discipline—to fearlessly engage with and transform culture. Learn more about pursuing your passion at SAMC.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier global Christian liberal arts university. We are dedicated to equipping students to discover meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. Drawing upon the riches of the Christian tradition, seeking to unite faith and reason through teaching and scholarship, Trinity Western University is a degree-granting research institution offering liberal arts and sciences as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four campuses and locations: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.