The Nature of Things: “Making Space” at The Works

Agata Garbowska, Curatorial Assistant

As the Curatorial Assistant with The Works Art & Design Festival, I have had the opportunity to read the proposals and statements of various artists exhibiting during the 2015 festival. While reading statements written by exhibiting artists, I noticed that several artists are addressing the theme, “Making Space,” by creating work that references the landscape. For example, both Lynette de Montreuil and Paddy Lamb are in some ways using material found in the landscape to address the theme “Making Space.”

As one of The Works’ artist-in-residence on Churchill Square during the Festival, Lynette de Montreuil will use organic material from the Edmonton landscape to create an architectural element on site. Titled Cradle to Cradle, the piece will begin to degrade during the Festival and, as de Montreuil writes in her proposal, “showcase the fleeting nature of all things.” De Montreuil elaborates that in allowing the organic material to decay, the artist is giving the material agency. De Montreuil will be building Cradle to Cradle over the first few days of the Festival, but those who want to see more of her work before festival begins should visit her website: http://lynettedemontreuil.ca/

Paddy Lamb will be exhibiting work in City Hall in a show titled New Requiem for the Field. Recently, Lamb has been examining an abandoned quarter section of farmland east of Edmonton. The artist has been collecting source material from the site and bringing the material from the site into the studio. To quote Lamb’s artist statement: “by inhabiting this space; documenting, dismantling and reusing discarded objects and machinery, [the artist] is trying to build a picture of a particular place and the shifting balance between man and nature within a specific environment.” Those interested in seeing more of Paddy’s work before the Festival can visit his website: http://paddylamb.com/

To preview more of the art that will be showcased at The Works Art & Design Festival in its 30th year, and to explore how other artists address the theme “Making Space,” download the Festival Guide at http://www.theworks.ab.ca/.