THE SACRED HARP

photo detail of textile artwork
Sunday, February 25, 2018 - 2:00pm

THE SACRED HARP | Sunday, February 25, 2018 | 2 PM | FREE
Join Nicole Collins and the Toronto Shape-Note Singers for an introduction to shape-note singing from The Sacred Harp tradition that inspired the sound element in Furthest Boundless. The “sacred harp” is the human voice, which combines in this practice into a four-part acapella harmony of hymns and anthems, in an inclusive, non-denominational musical event.

Furthest Boundless:  In a major, new mixed media installation complemented by a series of recent paintings, Toronto artist Nicole Collins delves into the emotional territory of loss as she explores the human struggle between grief and acceptance, gravity and grace.

Developed for the Koffler Gallery, Furthest Boundless is inspired by two concepts of Ancient Greek philosophy: Aphelion – the point on the orbit of a celestial body that is furthest from the sun – and Apeiron – the boundless, the origin for all that is. At the centre of the installation, a monumental deconstructed painting built out of woven and knotted nets of materials, pigments and wax faces a delicate video that responds with ephemeral movement to its static presence. The immersive environment is completed by an atmospheric sound piece based on traditional shape-note singing.

Driven by an impulse to repair, Collins’ visceral paintings attempt to suture, layer and preserve the damaged. This new work further strives to dismantle and reconfigure the painted surface, pushing against the physical limits of materials lifted from stretchers and sculpturally re-envisioned. Engaging the potent vocabulary of the colour black, Collins evokes the accumulation of all colours, the darkest shadows, the burnt remains, the fertile soil, creating poignant works that consider both frailty and resilience. Holes, rips and indentations in the fabrics create permeable layers that disperse yet hold together the whole, materializing absences.

Through painting, video and sound, Furthest Boundless articulates a personal response to a universal experience, reflecting a collective search for meaning in loss.

 

Venue & Address: 
Koffler Gallery Artscape Youngplace, 180 Shaw Street Toronto, ON
Website: 
http://kofflerarts.org/exhibitions/2017/09/07/nicole-collins-furthest-boundless/