This 1:27 clip offers a glimpse of Weighted Blanket, an installation created for “Upstairs” residency in a vacant apartment. The work features an intimate bedroom setting, a quilt made from recycled packing materials inscribed with memories of past moves, and a projected video with sound and figurative movement above the bed evoking the emotional weight of displacement and housing instability. Performer: Kelsey Cross. Organizers: Madeleine Merritt and Mia Guertin and, Poster by: David Bigg.
The 47-second clip features views of the Synthetic Nature installation and a walkthrough, as exhibited at the University of Ottawa Graduation Exhibition, Bloom, The work questions the complicated relationship between humans as consumers and their environments. and consists of digital imagery with layered sound, projected on a surface of recycled plastics. I invite viewers to reflect on the interplay between materials and images in relation to their own experiences.
This 35-second video clip of the Choice project shows views of the presentation at Artengine in Ottawa. The installation consists of handmade sensor pads, four videos, and live news headline updates generated by Python code, a microprocessor and Touchdesigner software. The videos alternate with changes in foot pressure. The project explores the overstimulation of doomscrolling and its impact on the brain.
In Siren Song, viewers navigate the interplay between beauty and environmental degradation, exploring the allure of consumerism against its peril. This immersive installation combines suspended plastic objects and ethereal vocals for a sensory experience, reflecting the relentless tide of consumer culture. Repurposed artifacts symbolize environmental detritus, engaging viewers in a dance with the materials embodying contemporary living. Haunting vocals echo the allure of mythical Sirens.
The Body Remembers
Created by Patricia Kenny
Featuring Maren K. Elliott
Film, 8 minutes 41 seconds
Presented at Doors Open, Enriched Bread Artists
Breathe, created around 2017, was later published on YouTube in 2021, as I felt it was particularly relevant to the COVID-19 times. This is an examination of anxiety disorder as a dominating presence in daily routine and mechanisms for coping—performance by Kelsey Cross. Video length is 3 minutes 34 seconds.