Philippe Blanchard and Luke Painter
Exhibition Opening May 7th, 7-10pm.
With separate art practices Philippe Blanchard and Luke Painter come together at 47 in the exhibition Ancestral Vision.
Luke Painter and Philippe Blanchard’s work with projection shares an interest in questioning the historical origins of contemporary forms of popular expression. Their hybrid practices strive to initiate a dialog (or is it a conference call?) between the disciplines of animation, installation and architecture and conceptually between historical periods. Animation is expanded through the use of installation, and is treated as a unique experience that is anchored by the exhibition space. This exhibition features two installations:
Quest for Fire is the result of Philippe Blanchard’s recent research into the history of animation and the moving image. Wanting to expand beyond the single-channel video format, Blanchard has been using installation and live performance as means of reflecting on how animation functions in today’s visual culture. A wall mounted mural piece is activated by synchronized rock-show lighting. Strobing patterns of coloured light interact with the coloured ink, the work becomes simultaneously still and moving. The imagery in the mural explores fire as a metaphor for the human fascination with light and energy. The control over fire is represented as a primordial technological impulse which the artist connects to the pervasiveness of moving imagery in contemporary culture.
From Victorian to Modernism to What? This installation by Luke Painter projects animated works that reflect on the compulsion to personally connect with (and often transform) the architecture of our surroundings. Over the past year Painter and his father have been building a scale model of a Victorian house from a neighbourhood past. Approximately 8’ tall and heavily ornamented, the structure is too small to be a real house and too large to be a dollhouse. On the rear wall of the building, two eyes made from stained glass project animations depicting architectural sites specific to Toronto that have personal resonance with Painter and that nod to the transitioning nature of neighbourhoods in the city.
Both installations harken back to the early days of the moving image and offer a reflection on the potential connections between historical periods, while humourously engaging the viewer.
47 is open Wednesday through Sunday from 12 – 5 p.m or by appointment.
Milky Way, Toronto, Ontario M6K 3L4 Canada
tel 647.436.9109
info@forty-seven.ca