While we met in Canmore, Alberta, for our annual in-person meeting we had the opportunity to listen to an artist talk by emerging fibre artist Elise Lavallee Findlay. We convened at the Arts Place in Canmore where her exhibition "Another Life" was on display. Elise is located in Banff, Alberta, just a short drive away from our meeting location. She is a visual artist known for her versatile, process-driven practice. Her work is centering around the themes of community, place, identity, and the intricacies of human interaction with the world.
The exhibition we saw was motivated by Elise's experience as a wood worker and cabinet maker. The series of pieces was started during the pandemic and Elise used some materials she had at hand during the lockdown. She pulled threads from drop cloth canvas material and stiffened it with cornstarch after shaping it around objects. The objects she depicts are woodworking tools that she used in her former job.
This is her artist statement about the series:
"This body of work began with an examination and a sculptural expression of my past experiences, and by extension, the challenges faced by women working in the construction trades. Through material and process I explored memories of my previous life, resulting in a series of fibre sculptures, which, while referencing woodworking tools, have become strange canvas shells. Each sculpture is a duplication that is and is not. The installation represents a place that no longer exits for me, yet it also is a starting point. Something here goes beyond the original idea and the process. It is a beginning, a way to explore transformation, and how, while I used to be a cabinetmaker, like the sculptures themselves, I am now something new."
Larger sheets were produced in the same way and then stitched into 3D models of woodworking tools like a band saw or a work bench. The pulled threads are part of the installation, they are scattered on the floor to resemble saw dust.
I was impressed with the concept of using the humble material to convey her thoughts about a male dominated workplace. Deconstruction, reconstruction and transformation are key processes of Elise's art making. She also brought with her a body of work that is going to be shown at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Ontario. The exhibition is "Outside the Lines - Women Artists and War" and her pieces were made in response to some of the artifacts shown in this exhibition. It was thought provoking to see a gas mask (see photo above) or shells made from the light and transparent fibre material.
She also showed us a birch bark piece that was stitched.
Elise was a great and inspiring speaker and we had lots of questions for her. It was wonderful to connect with a fellow fibre artist. Please look up her website at elisefindlay.ca if you're interested to see more of her work.
