future histories of salvaging the dead // Caolan Leander

An interpretive essay on Tara Nicholson’s exhibition, Mammoths, EcoZombies and Permafrost Extinction written by Caolan Leander

In Tara Nicholson’s Mammoths, EcoZombies, and Permafrost Extinction, the Arctic is seen through large-scale photographs that reveal the North in a state of crisis. Trading the frozen vistas of icebergs for intimate photographs of animal parts, riverbanks, and ice cores, her images invoke an existential uncanniness that destabilizes the viewer as we witness multiple absences through the temporary presence of decay, erosion, and thawing ice.

Crystal Przybille's Okanagan Monuments: A Dialogue Across Time // Michaela Bridgemohan

As part of a new series of essays taking inspiration from the Alternator archive, Michaela Bridgemohan considers Crystal Przybille’s practice, and the connections between two of Przybille’s recent public art commissions: The Father Pandosy Mission 150th Anniversary Commemorative Sculpture (2012) and The Chief Sʷknc̓ut Monument (2019).

main GalleryAlternator Centre for Contemporary ArtJanuary 17, 2025essay, Essay, Main gallery, Archive Essay

Reflections in a Three-Way Mirror // Jon Davies

Three Way Mirror is the collaboration of three queer artists from across Canada born in the 1970s – Daniel Barrow, Glenn Gear and Paige Gratland – who first connected in 2018 over a shared commitment to craft and ways of making like hand-drawn animation, sewing, weaving, leatherwork, beading, and paper dolls.

Art on the Front Lines // Lucas Glenn

As part of a new series of essays taking inspiration from the Alternator archive, Lucas Glenn interviews prominent syilx artist Sheldon Pierre Louis to discuss his practice, and what it means to make space for syilx and Indigenous artists.

(un)resolving liminality // Aly K. Benson

'(un)resolving liminality', an interpretive essay on Jordan Hill’s exhibition, The Missing Distance, written by Aly K. Benson.

In an evergrowing world, with each passing chance for advances to take over, we as a people expand our abilities, and our minds have no option but to choose a narrowed lane of focus. To better state, yet paradoxically: as the world gets bigger, it gets smaller.

sísp̓l̓k, a crack, the chariot, and intergenerational contexts of Mariel Belanger’s art-life practice // Erin Scott

As part of a new series of essays taking inspiration from the Alternator archive, Erin Scott explores the ever-evolving community-based arts practice of Mariel Belanger.

How to Be in an Art Gallery // Andrea Routley

As part of a new series of essays taking inspiration from the Alternator archive and activities, Andrea Routley considers Community Partnerships, and the value of creating a welcoming space.

THE ALGORITHM // Heather Savard

“Maybe we should stop trying to understand the world and instead trust the wisdom of algorithms”

(Megan O’Gieblyn, 2024, pg. 100)

CGish amalgamates the digital with the analog, using custom generative algorithms to splice together objects into perplexing, yet believable, forms. Heather Savard, writes on the state of AI and the future of art.

Melt Down a Little // Karis Dimas-Lehndorf

Michaela brings her own diasporic Afro-Carribean heritage forward with such sincerity. The scents in the salves of hair picks also pull from the landscapes of Kelowna. Patchouli, fir, and charcoal mix with black pepper, allspice, and shea butter. Scent mimics self as an olfactory Blackness is brought into this space.

Time As Relative // Hanss Lujan Torres

What is time, and how do we experience it? Recent and ongoing events have made us all aware that

time is as fragile as it is precious. If the order of time were to collapse, for whom would it matter?

ESSAYS

Community built.
Artist run.