Opening reception: Thursday April 13, 5:00–8:00 pm
The Department of Fine Arts and UWAG present the first in the series of thesis exhibitions by Master of Fine Arts (MFA) candidates from the graduate program in Fine Arts at the University of Waterloo. MFA Thesis gives the campus and community-at-large an opportunity to see the end result of two years of intensive research and studio production by emerging visual artists.
Gallery
One
Christine
De
Vuono
Care
Packages
Care Packages is a series of textile installations that focus on elements of caregiving: caring for the sick and elderly; caring for those growing into new identities or life situations; and caring for each other in times of distress or loneliness. Sourcing materials from local thrift stores, I repurpose scrubs worn by caregivers, tablecloths and lace decorations, bedsheets, and pillowcases, to symbolize our universal need for care, safety, and intimacy. As cultural signifiers these second-hand textiles are meant to evoke the feminine, since the act of caregiving has been traditionally performed by women. Through my artwork I celebrate women of the past and the present, inviting all, regardless of gender, to embrace the labours that lead to a healthy and resilient society.
Christine De Vuono is a multimedia artist working with drawing, sculpture, collage, installation, and photography. The materials of each project are chosen specifically to engage viewers in new ways to examine societal norms and values. Her work utilises antiquated practices and mindful labour, emphasising the disparity between past traditions and present efficiencies. Often focusing on the transitions we face in life, her work celebrates the needs of the psyche for beloved care and lived beauty.
Image credit: Christine De Vuono, For A Moment (installation detail), 2023, second-hand bedsheets, embroidered poems, clothesline, clothes pegs, dimensions variable
Gallery
Two
Sarah
Martin
Something
to
soften
the
blow
Something to soften the blow is an installation incorporating textile, photography, and video to challenge the horror genre and the concept of the Final Girl. The research leading to this body of work critically explores tropes and traditions of slasher films, specifically looking at the first victim, to consider notions of consumption and disposability, and how this relates to narratives concerning gender, sexism, and race.
Sarah Martin works in a photo-based practice to investigate pop culture and media through a critical feminist lens. Themes of her current work consider the vernacular of the horror genre through manipulating archives of film footage and performing death in staged photographs. Alongside her studio work is an active interest in curatorial practises, most recently curating work at the Homer Watson House and Gallery, Marilyn I. Walker Gallery, and Rodman Hall Art Centre.
Image credit: Sarah Martin, Something to soften the blow, 2022, set of two photographs printed on vinyl, 44" x 72" (detail)