Gallery 101 Presents: Inspiderations / Araignidées
An MFA Thesis exhibition by Valérie Chartrand (Emily Carr University)
This past year and a half has called for great adaptation, and even greater empathy. Valérie Chartrand’s MFA thesis exhibition is, unexpectedly, a perfect fit for those two themes.
Due to the current Ontario reopening protocols, G101 remains closed and our first exhibition of 2021 will be a primarily online offering.* We hope you’ll follow along over the next few days as Valérie takes over our social media to share insights into her fascinating, empathetic arachnid inspired research: Inspiderations / Araignidées.
*Update: July 14 2021
Thanks to the Ontario Government’s latest reopening announcements, G101 will finally be welcoming visitors again starting this Friday July 16, for Valerie Chartrand’s MFA thesis exhibition: Inspiderations/Araignidées!
We would also like to invite you to the exhibition closing on Friday July 23, from 5-8 PM. No registration is required to attend the closing or to visit the gallery.
Exhibition hours:
Friday July 16: 10 AM – 5PM
Saturday July 17: 12 – 5 PM
Tuesday July 20 – Friday July 23: 10 AM – 5PM
Saturday July 24: 12 – 5 PM
COVID Protocols:
Masks must be worn indoors.
Please maintain social distancing with those outside your household.
All visitors will be asked to sign in with their name and phone number for contact tracing purposes.
Please do not visit if you’ve been experiencing, or have been in contact with someone with COVID symptoms. We will continue to feature the exhibition online.
Artist Statement
Through my work, I consider how artists can communicate a sense of empathy, compassion and kinship with insects and arachnids that encourages thoughtful cohabitation and the adoption of sustainable ecological practices.
The focus of my research is the loss of biodiversity and reduction in arthropod populations due to climate change and human interference in their life cycles. I evoke the decline in species primarily through imprint techniques using found insects and non-toxic materials. I only gather and work with found insects that have previously perished, and insect materials purchased from ethical sources.
Reflections on killability of nonhumans and the looming ecological crisis caused by the loss of species are a key part of my practice and of my approach in memorializing dead insects in a subtle, poetic way. My passion for printmaking and my work with found insects lead to reflections on environmental decline as the resulting imprints convey presence through absence.
Through material research, ecological reflections, and attempts to establish kinship with nonhuman animals, the explorations I undertook as part of my creative research have resulted in a body of work documenting live arachnids and insects and memorializing fallen ones.
Special programming:
Artist talk (Zoom): Wednesday July 21, 6-7PM
Youtube Recording
Exhibition closing (in person): Friday July 23, 5-8 PM