Kelly Andres

Planting a Promise

 

about the artist

Kelly Andres is a research-based artist of settler origin. She has produced installations, performances and sensorial experiences that blend cosmologies and ecologies. Andres recently completed a practice-based Ph.D. in Fine Arts at Concordia University, Montréal, titled Radicle Assemblages (2020). Her current research intertwines ecological art practices, plant studies, performative placemaking, co-creative community/urban planning, and experiential approaches for multi-species interactions. Recent exhibitions include Particle + Wave, Calgary, Les yeux dans l’eau, Foreman Art Gallery of Bishop University in Sherbrooke, Sandstone City, The Lougheed House, Calgary, The Garden of Speculations, articule, Montréal, le Centre des arts actuels Skol, Montréal, La Maison des arts de Laval, Laval. Andres’ past work has been generously supported by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Artist Statement

My work intermingles ecology and energies; from living beings such as plants and micro-organisms, and from electronic mediums such as radio waves, electrons, and photons, into the form of interactive installations and performances for geo-specific sites. I often work with common or overlooked entities (whether it be due to size or perceived insignificance) such as yeast, fungi, lichen, and algae to facilitate a shift and relations of care; thus, installations and sculptures are participatory and in flux. This process often involves an appropriation of materials and techniques from an unfamiliar discipline into the performative gesture. I work with a concept of tender curation where a central component of an artwork requires daily attendance. These experiences open to a kind of tending that inspires affection and concern for the living creatures that are assembled within artworks. Ideally, projects gravitate towards a post-anthropocentric art of response-responsibility. In this sense, a research-creation methodology evolves as a form of contemporary art practice performed as an expansion of possible social relations through generative propositions.

 

Caring for your plantling 

Step 1: Finding an area 

  • Sunflowers need direct sunlight; at least 6-8 hours of sunlight per day. 

  • The soil should have good water drainage and be resistant to waterlogging. 

  • The soil that you’re transplanting the flower into does not need fertilizer unless it’s very poor in nutrients. In that case, a little bit of fertilizer may be added, but not too close to the base of the plant! Over-fertilization can cause the stems to break. 

Step 2: Transplanting the sunflower 

  • The pots can be planted straight into the soil as they are decomposable. However, cutting out the bottom of the pot may help the roots grow deeper and healthier. 

Step 3: Caring for the sunflower 

  • Sunflowers can be watered deeply, and only once a week, once they’ve become established.  

  • Try not to get the blooms wet, as this can cause damage. 

 

Festival Exhibit Gallery