NEWS
SINCE 1944
The Bishop’s University Newspaper Vol. 73, No. 7
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FlosffWaking up the Townships since1944 Student run since 1944 JANUARY 24, 2018
Foreman Art Gallery Presents: PARALLAX-E Foreman Art Gallery celebrates 20 years of existence with astronomic contemporary art exhibit
LOCH BAILLIE Contributor
O
n the evening of January 17, I had the opportunity to attend the opening of PARALLAX-E, Foreman Art Gallery’s newest exhibition and one that marks the innovative space’s twentieth anniversary. Drawing on the concepts of space and time, the current art installations are thought-provoking, futuristic, and diverse in their mediums. Although these pieces are largely crafted by Québécois artists, some boast the creative seals of artists from New York City, Paris, and the UK. PARALLAX-E is truly something to behold. Upon entering the gallery, I was immediately curious about curator Gentiane Bétanger’s decision to omit lengthy descriptions of the installations on the walls. It was later explained to me that instead of cluttering the space with text, all information from the artists had been compiled into a beautiful booklet that visitors of the gallery could take home and read after viewing the art.
For me, the main highlight of this event was hearing from a few of the artists about their works. Incidentally, two of the three artists had created my favourite pieces in the gallery. Bettina Forget, who describes herself as “an artist by day and an astronomer by night,” was the first artist to speak. Forget’s installation, Women With Impact, is a series of thirty framed “portraits,” each displaying a
different crater of the moon named after a woman. I found this piece particularly interesting after Forget revealed the social commentary behind her work. That is, out of the 1,605 craters on the moon named after humans, only twenty-nine of those craters are named after women. By highlighting these craters, Forget works to “disrupt gender stereotypes by fusing art and science”, some-
thing I found brilliant, particularly in our current political climate. The second artist to speak was Rachel Sussman, a New York City based artist who created A (Selected) History of the Spacetime Continuum. In my opinion, this installation best encapsulates PARALLAXE’s focus on time’s place in the study of astronomy. Sussman’s work takes up an entire wall and presents a golden timeline
PHOTO COURTESY FOREMAN WEBSITE
Semiconductor, Black Rain, 2009
against a dark background. The timeline starts with the beginning of time, and ends millions of years from now after “the end of time.” Along the line, however, there are smaller pieces of art in all different mediums that display important scientific theories and discoveries throughout history, such as the Big Bang (represented by text in a frame), shavings from an actual NASA spacecraft, and Einstein’s theory of general relativity written with neon lights. Sussman’s piece was not all math and science, however. One of the installation’s most distinct features was how its artist represented thousands and thousands of stars: with googly eyes! If you have a chance, a highly recommend that you check out PARALLAX-E before Foreman Art Gallery introduces a new exhibit in mid-March. Take your time to contemplate the different ways we can make sense of our place in the universe, and maybe you, like Forget and Sussman, will also be inspired. This exhibition is truly out of this world!