The 6th Annual InterAccess Emerging Artists Exhibition

InterAccess is pleased to present Press Play an energetic showcase of dynamic new works in electronic media. The exhibit features six emerging artists who playfully intervene both old and new technologies in order to expose the cultural conditions that shape modern life. Exploring the sometimes humourous, sometimes dystopic theatre of the everyday, these artists investigate how our values and perceptions are infused not only in our behaviours but also in the technologies that we create. Using technology as a costume that allows us to role-play prescribed behaviours, these works provide a performative examination of who we are and why we do what we do.

Please join us for the opening reception on July 14 from 8-11 pm, where Kurt Buckingham will be head of the class in live beats. Refreshments will be served and the artists of the exhibition will be attendance.

More about the works in the exhibition:

In Alison S. M. Kobayashi's video installation Dan Carter, the artist performs as a series of characters based on a found answering machine tape that once belonged to a person named Dan Carter. Using a found scrap of analog technology to reflect on the human condition, Kobayashi draws viewers into the humourous and disjointed lives of somehow dystopic characters. In Paula Jean Cowan's stick/twirl, the artist video taped herself performing two vignettes, which she then roto-scoped to create simplified line-drawing animations. By translating her performances into a two channel video installation, the artist reclaims her body as a site for personal negotiation.

Works in the exhibition that invite the audience to become part of the performance include Darsha Hewitt and Stephanie Brodéur's Magnetic Identity Liberation Front (MILF), an interactive installation that invites people to swipe any magnetic strip card (such as a credit card, bank card, gift card etc.) through the MILF machine. Once activated the machine generates a personalized musical sequence that the artists claim can liberate a consumer's "true identity". In John Smith's pixels+pitches (p+p), the artist invites the viewer to navigate through animated sequences reminiscent of early video game sounds and low-budget Sci-fi imagery. In this "virtual sandbox" the audience is given a set amount of tools with an unlimited number of outcomes.

In Lorena Salomé's untitled work, two hacked model trains are bound to a circular track, each moving different speeds and directions continually, creating a repetitive and mundane dance. Multiple options exist for both trains: they can hit each other, follow each other, go in opposite directions, stop at any moment and change speeds. In this work Salomé deals with ideas of control and submission within closed systems. In Simone Charles' work Merry-Go-Round the viewer is enticed by an interactive sculpture of a merry-go-round with an accompanying plaque. The merry-go-round is only activated when the viewer turns their back to read its text plate. Simone's work teases the viewer, denying them the pleasure of joining in the fun.

Through works that explore the playful potentials of technology, Press Play may just find and press your buttons!

Download the brochure essay by Tatiana Mellema.

Press Play is curated by Tatiana Mellema, for the 6th Annual InterAccess Emerging Artists Exhibition. Each year, an emerging curator is selected to intern with InterAccess and be mentored through the curatorial process, resulting in a high-profile exhibition of recent graduates in new and electronic media arts. Contact InterAccess for more information on the annual curatorial internship.