GALLERY TALK: HEATHER LEWIS

Gallery Talk: Heather Lewis
Saturday, May 7
11:30 AM
Free and Open to the Public

Join mixed media and installation artist, Heather Lewis, for a gallery talk regarding her work in the Green Shadow exhibition on Saturday, May 7. Lewis explores the relationship between perception, mechanical process and creative practice as she incorporates technology and everyday phenomena such as light, shadow and gravity, into her installations, paintings, wall and floor drawings.

Heather Lewis Artist Statement
Mass production is a familiar concept - most of my possessions are made in factories. Mass production relies on deskilling, or removing skill from production processes, often achieved by using  templates and stencils.  Using stenciling and simple technology within a fine art value system separates the idea of deskilling from its commercial framework, and at the same time opens up traditional definitions of drawing for re-evaluation.  For example, a shadow could be defined as a drawing according to traditional criteria : it accurately translates a 3D situation into 2D format consistent with a single viewpoint, incorporating edges, value and perspective. However, considering a shadow as a drawing brings a raft of new possibilities.  Unlike a traditional drawing a shadow is formed automatically, without skill, relying on the physics of light and the shape of the object.  A shadow can be created or destroyed instantly, leaving no trace; it can be hugely enlarged without extra materials; and it engages with the surface that displays it, taking drawing off its paper and into new situations.  A shadow is a completely accurate representation of reality but it is not an illusion of reality, nor even sometimes a recognizable image.  A shadow occurs in real time, not the past, and can be controlled via its the energy source.