CASSANDRA FERGUSON
Recent Works
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CONTENT
Sculpture Structure YL-W15 #75 Structure 5511-604 Models Mould Making Specimen Bottle Milk Bottle Mason Jar Concrete Wall Negative Print Structure YL-W15 #75 Interview with the Artist Curriculum Vitae
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INTRODUCTION Over the past several years I have been finding an increasing attachment to the natural environment. Growing up I always had a sincere appreciation for nature, but I never gave much thought as to why. My practice is about asking questions, learning and understanding the way we live in comparison to the natural world. It is a series of asking questions that are perhaps unanswerable, where the artwork explores possibilities and examines the questions without needing to be an answer. It is not so much a question of environmental activism, but objectively looking at the way we live and questioning our behaviours. What I find most intriguing to examine is the behaviour of adapting – adapting to social situations, change, physical locations, and the ability for an organic being to adapt it’s way of living around an element that has been inflicted on it. All natural beings, ourselves included, are always changing and adapting to that change. We are always forced to change parts of ourselves to meet the needs of others or a larger society. The presence of a human in a natural environment is increasingly becoming more apparent to me, and I cannot help but question whether or not our actions are propelling us forward or holding us back. I am questioning whether we are living with the natural world or whether we are coexisting with it; considering our past and where we stand and deciding the future we want for our existence. I am intrigued with notions of space and home: home being a physical place or state of mind, and the idea of attachment to physical places.
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The world is my influence, my art is a culmination of everything around me that I take in and experience. I pull some of my greatest sources of inspiration from spaces, the way that a room or space feels when you insert yourself into it and observing how it changes. Living in the suburbs has proven a direct relation to this body of work. I am surrounded in a sea of excavation and new building structures where there is a profound feeling of quiet destruction. Right now I am taking a lot of influence from architecture and roadways and examining our need for these things as a part of our daily life, but also looking at them as an interruption to a
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Paris, Ontario larger ecosystem. My surrounding environment forces me to look primarily at the structure and the logistical construction of our homes as a form. This aesthetic of raw building materials has directly translated into my work as I seek to work with traditional building supplies to mimic a human civilization.
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I view the human race as systematic. The construction of our world is unique to other forms of life in the orderly structures that shape our society. Through my work I aim to create sculptures that stand as manufactured constructions of a modern human civilization. Art is making a statement and exploring something with a different way of looking. I have discovered that physical space is important to my practice – creating a physical disturbance or disruption of literal space in a room. Occupying space is important because we take up space. I think about making art has a process of building: gathering the information and assembling it into something tangible. As I attempt to look at unanswerable questions of our existence, I hope to show the viewer something new in the way that the information is presented. Not every person should have the same view and understanding of the work, and since there is not one single answer, what is important is the experience in engaging with the work and considering the repercussions of our actions.
Cassandra Ferguson
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SCULPTURE
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Structure YL-W15 #75
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Process, Structure YL-W15 #75, 2014, plywood, spruce, cedar, galvanized steel, latex interior house paint, 66 x 45.5 x 15.5�
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Structure YL-W15 #75, 2014, plywood, spruce, cedar, galvanized steel, latex interior house paint, 66 x 45.5 x 15.5�
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Detail, Structure YL-W15 #75, 2014, plywood, spruce, cedar, galvanized steel, latex interior house paint, 66 x 45.5 x 15.5�
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Structure YL-W15 #75, 2014, plywood, spruce, cedar, galvanized steel, latex interior house paint, 66 x 45.5 x 15.5�
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Detail, Structure YL-W15 #75, 2014, plywood, spruce, cedar, galvanized steel, latex interior house paint, 66 x 45.5 x 15.5�
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Structure 5511-604
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Sketchbook Scan. Structure 5511-604, 2014, plywood, medium-density fibreboard, galvanized steel, plexiglas, ceramic 41 x 29 x 13.5�
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Sketchbook Scan. Structure 5511-604, 2014, plywood, medium-density fibreboard, galvanized steel, plexiglas, ceramic, 41 x 29 x 13.5�
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Structure 5511-604, 2014, plywood, medium-density fibreboard, galvanized steel, plexiglas, ceramic, 41 x 29 x 13.5�
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Structure 5511-604, 2014, plywood, medium-density fibreboard, galvanized steel, plexiglas, ceramic, 41 x 29 x 13.5�
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Structure 5511-604, 2014, plywood, medium-density fibreboard, galvanized steel, plexiglas, ceramic, 41 x 29 x 13.5�
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Detail. Structure 5511-604, 2014, plywood, mediumdensity fibreboard, galvanized steel, plexiglas, ceramic, 41 x 29 x 13.5�
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Process. Structure 5511-604, 2014
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MODELS
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Building Block Models with Digital Colour Overlay, 2014, plywood, medium-density fibreboard, varying dimensions
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Building Block Models, 2014, plywood, medium-density fibreboard, varying dimensions
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MOULD MAKING
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SLIP CAST MOULD
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Process, Specimen Bottle Gang Mould, 2014
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Specimen Bottle, ceramic cast, 2014,
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Process, Milk Bottle Mould, 2014
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Milk Bottle, ceramic cast, 2014
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Mason Jar, ceramic cast, 2014
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CONCRETE MOULD
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Process, Concrete Mould, 2014
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Concrete Mould, 2014
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Wall Negative, concrete, 2014
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Detail. Wall Negative, concrete, 2014
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Structure YL-W15 #75, 2014, xante lithograph, 22 x 15�
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Detail. Structure YL-W15 #75, 2014, xante lithograph, 22 x 15�
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The Artist in Her Studio
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AN INTERVIEW WITH THE ARTIST
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Q. This body of work is very conceptually focused, what are some of your external influences driving your ideas? A. I have always had a profound love for the environment but have recently been diving deeper within that and finding that I have a lot of philosophical questions about the world that we live in. I have become fixated on this questioning about the way we are living: if it is ethical, environmentally responsible, dominating, equalizing. I question the reason for our existence and whether or not we have a purpose to fulfill through our life. With this body of work I am looking to sources of human necessity: roadways, maps, and particularly architecture. I live in a newbuild subdivision in the middle of an ongoing construction zone where there is a profound feeling of destruction and dominance. There is no doubt that being immersed in this environment has filtered its way into my work. I am intrigued with the infrastructure of buildings and find the systematic arrangement of building very grounded and visually satisfying. I am influenced by the world around me, densely populated cities as well as the organic quality of the natural environment. The idea of manufacturing has been of influence to me, ideas of replication and mass production connecting again to our society. This idea of manufacture leads into the theme of domesticity that I often find my work falling into, space relating to home and household objects. Q. It is clear from your journals that planning is a very thorough aspect of your creative process; can you speak about how this helps to develop your ideas into three-dimensional forms? A. I consider my journal planning to be the most important part of my creative
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process. It is an accumulation of every thought and idea that has risen, sketches, plans, photo print outs, inspiration and influences. It serves as a place to record the successes and more importantly failures of every attempted experiment. I am a visual person and enjoy the order of having a well-complied arrangement of my thoughts bound in a book for easy use. My journals are heavily filled with both text and sketches. I start to develop a piece first through text; writing out and attempting to make sense of what I want to say through the piece. Sketching however occupies the majority of my planning time, loosely drawing a single sculpture dozens of times through the duration of actually building it. Keeping all of this information complied in one place is invaluable to me because I can look back to see the initial thought that sparked an entire work, and watch how it evolved through drawings to reach its verdict. The learning and experimentation that takes place through each rough sketch only helps me to troubleshoot potential problems in future pieces. Q. This idea of physical space seems very important to you and the work. What is it about working three dimensionally that inspires you? Do you feel that sculpture best communicates your ideas verses say painting or drawing? A. I have this inclination to build. I consider my art practice as a physical construction, a literal building together of ideas. There is a gratification I get through putting something together that I cannot describe. I have always been more compelled to artwork that has a definite physical presence in a space. When I walk into a room I explore how it feels, how objects in the room interact with the space, and how the space changes when a person is inserted into it. A sculpture interrupts and occupies our literal space and therefore it tends to gravitate attention. I
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am pulled to sculpture because to me it is tangible, I can see its construction, I can feel its presence, and I can move myself around it to examine its entire existence. I do feel that sculpture is the best medium possible for me to explore my concept in that I can express this idea of nature conforming to the needs of the human in a way that I find is more evocative and literal. Through working sculpturally I am also able to satisfy the need for space and having a physical presence in a room. Q. Is there intention behind the materials that you select for your pieces, and does that contribute to what you are communicating through the work? A. Since my work is nonrepresentational I do place more importance on my material selection. There is a visual juxtaposition between the human and nature components of each work, the human being represented by a linear “manufactured� form and the nature by an organic form. I build the structures in a way that is influenced from architecture and the infrastructure of buildings, raw and middlegrade building supplies. Exposed hardware, plywood, particleboard, plastics, and galvanized steel read to me as industrial and are a result of human manipulation. Casted multiples produced in ceramic are glazed and are systematic; there is no individuality to them. The natural component however, the fibre, is purely one of a kind, a unique product of the universe. Q. There is a stylistic thread that runs through each work, do you see the works as individual pieces or as being parts of a whole? Do you consider them to be a series? A. I do consider the works to be a series; they all fall under an umbrella of a simi-
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lar conceptual theme. I believe that the pieces can stand and be displayed on their own, however I do feel that they have a stronger presence when they are displayed in relation to one another. Q. There is an immediate curiosity to each piece that seems to invite the viewer to come up and examine it, could you speak about this interaction and how you intend for people to interact with the pieces? A. The viewer interaction with the work is important. I want to spark a feeling of curiosity that will ultimately question the viewer. The size of each piece is carefully considered so that I can direct the viewer around it in a certain way. Windows and cutouts are positioned specifically so that the viewer is forced to physically move their body around the work to engage with it. Q. What do you consider to be the most gratifying or rewarding part of your practice as a whole? A. Seeing an idea manifest into something, to me, is the most rewarding part of producing art. It has never really been about the final polished work, but the process in getting there that I find so engaging. I am more satisfied in working processes that are labor intensive where I can watch the work continue to unfold in a series of stages.
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CURRICULUM VITAE
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Education McMaster University 2011-2015. Bachelor Fine Arts in Honours Studio Art Achievements 2014. Hamilton Artists Inc. Award for Distinction in the McMaster Studio Art Program 2014. The Peter McPhater Memorial Scholarship, McMaster University 2014. The University Senate Scholarship, McMaster University 2012-2013. McMaster University Dean’s Honour List. 2011. The McMaster Honour Award, McMaster University Exhibitions November 2014. “SWARM” Annual Members Exhibition, Hamilton Artists Inc., 155 James St. North, Hamilton ON November 2014. “Polyvocal” Public Silent Auction, McMaster University Togo Salmon Hall, Hamilton ON March 2014. “Naturally Connected”, Exhibition and Silent Auction, McMaster University Togo Salmon Hall, Hamilton ON March 2014. “Continuance”, Group Exhibition, Gallery on the Bay, 231 Bay Street North, Hamilton ON February 2014. “Chiasmata” Public Silent Auction, McMaster University Togo Salmon Hall, Hamilton ON February 2014. “Chiasmata” Exclusive Silent Auction, McMaster University Togo Salmon Hall, Hamilton ON November 2013. “Touchstone: Student Exhibition,” McMaster University Togo
Salmon Hall, Hamilton ON September 2013. “En Plein Air”, McMaster University Togo Salmon Hall, Hamilton ON April 2013. “Alexandra’s Travelling Bauhaus,” McMaster University Togo Salmon Hall, Hamilton ON March 2013. Mapping Paradise, McMaster University Togo Salmon Hall, Hamilton ON March 2013. 10th Annual Revolution Wear Fashion Show, Jackson Square, Hamilton ON March 2013. Toyota Showroom Exhibition, 999 Upper James St., Hamilton ON November 2011. Firstwork, McMaster University Togo Salmon Hall, Hamilton ON . Articles/Reviews October 2014. Incite Magazine. Volume 17, Issue 2. “Islands”. Print. September 2014. Incite Magazine. Volume 17, Issue 1. “Steps”. Print. August 2014. Interviewed on “Think, Words” blog. http://thinkwords. org/2014/08/01/eye-candy-a-lesson-in-visual-inspiration-and-a-life-of-art-withcassandra-ferguson/ February 2014. Incite Magazine. Volume 16, Issue 4. “Sight”. Print. November 2013. Incite Magazine. Volume 16, Issue 3. “Elements”. Print. March 2013. Mapping Paradise Exhibition http://mappingparadise.wordpress.com/ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/mcmaster-show-combines-artecology-1.1343135
Employment May 2013-current. Studio Art and Office Assistant, School of the Arts, McMaster University Volunteering August 2014-Present. Hamilton Artist Inc. volunteer on the Special Events committee for “Craft Mart” November 2014, Hamilton Artists Inc. 155 James St. North, Hamilton ON June 2014. Dr. Robert and Andree Rheaume Fitzhenry Studios and Atrium Groundbreaking Ceremony and Luncheon. Student Representative and Speaker, McMaster University, Hamilton ON March 2014. “Naturally Connected”, Exhibition and Silent Auction, McMaster University Togo Salmon Hall, Hamilton ON February 2013. “Chiasmata” Exclusive Silent Auction, McMaster University Togo Salmon Hall, Hamilton ON
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CASSANDRA FERGUSON © 2014
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