 The Seeker is an exhibition centered on the notion of a digital glitch as a portal to dreamlike, alternative experiences.
The disturbance of indexicality of the source materials, especially the disruption of photoreal forms and the emergence of psychedelic colors, frames the resulting images as portals to a higher reality. Surrounded by the muted every-day life beyond the glass of the space, they offer a snapshot of a changing self, as if in a drug induced dream of a substance user, or someone on the path of enlightenment. The number 7 (for 7 prints) is significant in this case because, according to numerology, it “knows that nothing is exactly as it seems and that reality is often hidden behind illusions.” One of the illusions that are being broken here is the transparency and the pixel perfect facade of digital media, generated and maintained by the system to impress the viewer and enslave the senses. Video games, hyperreal advertising images, and crisp detailsin every Hollywood movie, are all examples of this. By disrupting the strict, digital organization of the source files, perhaps we can detach from such fixations and be free to attain higher consciousness. The choice of a self-portrait emphasizes the very personal nature of such experience. Therefore the work presented here can signify paths or choices produced from a single starting point (the original image). It could also represent ripples through a single reality that lead to mystical places in the mind or reflections of a changing consciousness. Another theme of The Seeker is opaqueness, or in other words, the mystification of something by veiling it. The source materials, which have been filtered through glitching techniques, are all veiled behind an aura of colours, pixels and blockey shapes, creating a kind of ethereal mystery. True glitches - ones that happen spontaneously - are mysteries in and of themselves. We can only guess why the TV goes haywire or our computer crashes. But when these things happen, they break us away from the hypnotic glow of the screen and open up our eyes to alternative universes. exhibition runs: october 8 to november 30, 2013 closing reception: november 15 | 6:00pm (drinks to follow at Wine-OH's - guests of UAS receive a 10% discount) artist talk: november 7 | 6:00pm (at Satellite Gallery - 343 11 Ave SW)
0 Comments
|
contact us today403 454 0243 
MARTA BLICHARZ
Marta Blicharz is a Polish-Canadian, traditionally trained visual artist, currently exploring computer graphics and photography in the context of the digital glitch and its postmodern identity. Growing up in the small town Sulecin, Poland, Marta participated in many local art contests and international artist visits which were hosted by the town’s Centre for Culture, Sport and Recreation. (SOKSiR).
In the summer of 2000, Marta moved to Lethbridge, AB, Canada with her family, where she completed the International Baccalaureate Art courses and obtained her high school diploma in 2002. She then went on to pursue an arts degree at the University of Calgary and in 2006 she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Photography) and a Minor in Psychology. In the meantime Marta engaged in some freelance photography work and had her photos published in several magazines. Two years later, Marta enrolled in the Multimedia Production Diploma Program at Lethbridge College and graduated in 2010 with honours. Marta exhibited at the Pixel gallery in Toronto, as well as at the Computational Aesthetics in Vancouver in 2011. Her work has been shown both in a group and solo context. She has also presented at the 2011 Glitch Festival in Chicago. In August 2012, Marta completed her Master of Fine Arts in New Media degree at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta. Her aspirations for the future involve becoming a writer, a film director and maintaining her digital art practice while teaching art and design at established educational institutions in Canada. Categories
All
|
