New exhibits at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery take a look at different perspectives through two travelling exhibits, which open tonight and run until Nov. 20.
The main gallery features Vancouver based, Korean born artist Jin-Me Yoon’s “Here Elsewhere Other Hauntings”, which explores human’s relationship to nature through photography and short films ranging from nine minutes long to 22 minutes long.
“ She moved to Canada with her parents in 1967 or 1968,” said curator Anne-Marie St-Jean Aubre, noting the exhibition, which was conceived and organized by the Musée d'art de Joliette, Québec, shows the artist and her family reflecting on their relationship to nature and their Korean roots.
The artist teaches at Simon Fraser University. Her exhibit reflects 30 years of her reflections on nature.
Since beginning in 2019, the exhibit has run in Quebec City, Ottawa and Kamloops. Lethbridge is the last stop.
One short film features the artist observing a Korean Crane dancer on a Vancouver island beach overlooking the ocean.
“She’s looking over the Pacific Ocean towards Korea,” she observed.
The exhibit begins in the Southern Alberta Art Gallery’s main foyer with six large photographs of the artist looking at familiar landscapes like the Rocky Mountains in Banff. They started as a series of postcards.
“ They’re very touristic and fun,” she said
Another series of photos features a sand structure.
“ It’s about her relationship to natural discourse,” she said.
The exhibitions open with an opening reception, Friday, Sept. 16 from 7-9 p.m.
Visiting curator Anne-Marie St-Jean Aubre, Curator of Contemporary Art, Musée d’art de Joliette takes part in a special Articulations, an in-person talk and tour at the SAAG on Saturday, Sept. 17 from 2 to 3 p.m.
In the upstairs gallery, Alberta born, New York based artist Jude Griebel explores eco-anxiety with Next World Emissaries, which he created during Covid lockdowns in his Brooklyn studio. The exhibit has run in Brooklyn, Saskatoon and Lethbridge.
“I’m excited to bring it to Alberta, because I grew up here,” said artist Jude Griebel.
The exhibit features oversized paper-mache and cardboard insects towering over miniature cities, but it is about more than just giant insects.
“During the pandemic, I got thinking about what might happen after the collapse of civilization. And all around my studio, there‘s extermination businesses dedicated to eliminating what are considered nuisance creatures in urban centres,” he said, noting it expands on preivous works exploring dystopia through dioramas.
“ So I was playing with the idea of what would happen in the new world that’s taking shape,” he said, adding though the subject matter is serious, it is a fun exhibit suitable for families.
In the SAAG library, Emily Promise Allison’s Futility Index photo series depicts the limitations and possibilities of physical balance. Utilizing an array of household, industrial, constructed, and natural materials, Emily Promise Allison intricately balanced and photographed hanging assemblages.
The details of each assemblage were considered with an utmost regard for authenticity, meaning that nothing in the composition was altered in post-production. The resulting artwork is a collaboration between the artist and natural forces, as gravity demands the size, weight, and position of the item to be added next.
The three exhibits officially open tonight at an opening reception 7-9 p.m. and run until Nov. 20.
— By RichardAmery, L.A. Beat Editor
