VAV Gallery’s summer residency showcases diverse artistic journeys

Tapir by Felipe Colmenares Betancourt, a painting portraying the Darién Jungle. Photo by Maya Ruel// The Concordian

The exhibit Vestiges of Belonging wraps up with a vibrant showcase of fresh perspectives, featuring powerful works from six emerging artists.

The Visual Arts Visuels (VAV) Gallery in Concordia’s Fine Arts building hosted the fourth edition of its summer residency program in July and August. 

The artwork created by the artists was showcased at the gallery from Sept. 3 to Sept. 14 in the exhibition named Vestiges of Belonging, which was VAV’s very first show of the new school year. Six artists were invited into the space, and each of them had one month to complete the project they submitted.

On Sept. 12, four of the six artists addressed the audience during a finissage, explaining their creative process, their techniques, the meaning behind their creations, and the research they had to undergo to complete their work.

The artists’ pieces took many different forms. Colombian artist Felipe Colmenares Betancourt worked on a massive painting depicting the Darién Jungle, which millions of Colombians pass through regularly to try to escape the country. 

Betancourt spent a week in the jungle to conduct research for his artwork, speaking to refugees and Indigenous tribes. The result is a colourful piece holding a deep meaning for its creator, who also had to flee his country when he was young because of the war. 

“I left by plane, which is like, VIP refugee,” said Betancourt. “But there are millions of people in Colombia for the last 16 years that have been passing through the jungle.”

The jungle is located between Colombia and Panama, which makes it easier for the refugees, who have to walk thousands of kilometres, to get to the U.S. and Canada.

Kelly Day is an American artist who created the piece How to Read a Room, consisting of a rug and a comforter entirely made out of books and journal pages. The comforter was sewn by hand and displayed on a bed frame. A video playing on a loop accompanied the artwork, where Day read out loud the first chapter of How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler. Since the third grade, Day has had difficulties with reading because of undiagnosed learning disabilities. 

“It was always embarrassing and frustrating for me,” said Day. “It just took me a very long time to read anything.” 

She realized recently that childhood trauma contributed to these reading difficulties, and she decided to tackle that trauma head-on by making art out of books.

Anna Noel is a design student who explored type print and movement in her artwork. She used her body as a printing press, writing words on herself with lipstick and pressing her bare skin against paper on the walls and the ground. She also filmed herself moving on the paper and projected the film onto sheets of printed paper hung on the wall.

“On the second day of the residency, I was hit by a cyclist as I was crossing the street,” said Noel, explaining that her injured arm compromised her project, as her body was her main focus. 

“My first thought was: ‘I just started my residency! What am I going to do?’” she said. 

Because of that experience, the project took a different turn. Noel documented her healing process as her piece took form. 

All six artists were congratulated warmly and given red roses as the event concluded. The VAV Gallery is now working on its next project, the IUNGO Artist Talk series. 

Another Concordia gallery, Leonard & Bina Allen Gallery, is preparing the exhibition Choublak, which was scheduled to open on Sept. 5. The opening was delayed as one of the featured artists, Ésery Mondésir, stood in solidarity with striking Concordia staff members. The exhibition will open as soon as the strike comes to an end.

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