Arianna Richardson
June 17 – July 29| 2023
Artist Talks: June 17 | 6 PM
Reception: June 17 | 7- 9 PM
Surface All The Way Through is an exhibition composed of sculptural pillow-objects and text-based wall-hangings assembled from discarded plastic and thrift-store craft supplies using hobby-craft techniques. It is an exploration of superficiality, distraction, reflection, containment, emotional blockages, consumerism, accumulation, and waste.
This exhibition presents ambiguous slogans that oscillate between self-help affirmations, vacuous advertisement slogans, and the absurdist confessions of a plastic-obsessed citizen in our klepto-capitalist society. By working toward seamless perfection using intensively laborious handicraft methods, I mimic the visual language of mass-production completely by hand, turning myself into a mock-machine of capitalism that actively works to de-construct and re-present the messaging and objects of consumer-culture. Each object is saturated with decoration; layered with an impossible amount of surface texture, colour, and pattern. They simultaneously evoke comfort and repulsion with the fluctuations between their softness and familiarity of form and the discomfort of a frivolously decorated surface and plastic-waste-stuffed interior.
Arianna Richardson is a sculptor, performance artist, sewist, and mother from Lethbridge, AB in Treaty 7 territory. She is a lifelong crafter and thrift-store enthusiast, constantly collecting plastic-based trash and discarded craft materials. Richardson sometimes performs under the pseudonym, The Hobbyist, taking her hobby-craft pursuits outdoors to activate public spaces and talk to people about trash. Arianna holds a BFA (2013) in Studio Arts from the University of Lethbridge and an MFA (2018) from NSCAD in Halifax, NS.
*This show was formerly a duo exhibition featuring Arianna Richardson and Molly JF Caldwell. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Molly JF Caldwell’s exhibition will be postponed to a later date.
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