Pathways, Halifax
By Merryn Tresidder
Brianna Bruce
A rammed Luke’s Small Goods last Saturday morning is “as busy as it gets” (according to Google), but I’m not here for bread. In the alley beside the bakery, a hand-painted chipboard sign reads “PAINTINGS THIS WAY.” At the end of the lane are two large paintings draped like curtains. Behind them, a tranquil courtyard is peppered with personal pictures of all sizes. Quaintly and gesturally, Brianna Bruce and Jennifer Wilson’s paintings exist in pure juxtaposition to the caffeine-fueled madness around the corner. Similarly, the hordes of North Enders getting their coffee fix on Macara and Isleville could be forgiven for not knowing they are in the presence of an internationally represented artist. However, when the early winter’s sun sets, one might notice an ominous glow from a nearby basement. Closer inspection will reveal two looped digital works by Sage Sidley in the windows. These three women are amongst a handful of Nova Scotia-based artists assembled by part-time publisher, part-time photographer, and now part-time curator Nick Chapman. Under the guise of Atlantic Canada, or AC WORLD artist book publishers (a collaboration with Soren Wilde), Chapman has picked twenty-three artists to exhibit in the “city-wide show” Pathways.
Prior to the weekend, AC World distributed maps to selected businesses, galleries, and university campuses across the city. These handmade illustrated guides provided the exact coordinates and small directives as to where the artworks could be found – potentially indefinitely. You might’ve missed it, but in the stillness of a suspiciously warm November Friday night, an exhibition sprang to life. From the farthest reaches of North Halifax to its most southerly point (Point Pleasant Park), twenty-three works were erected in less than twenty-three hours. On the back of the exhibition map, a message reads: “Please note that these works may have been altered or removed from their respective locations by the time you get to view them.”
Nick Chapman
The writer of these words, Nick himself, would be the first artist to feel the nihilistic wrath of the public. A series of photos, glued and simultaneously framed by expanding foam to the walls of an underground walkway, barely saw the light of day. At 9:47am, I was sad to report to AC World Gallery Systems HQ that one miserable individual took it upon themselves to rip them all in half. In response, a swift communiqué from ACW on their Instagram read: “…photos in tunnel ripped down. Just part of the game I guess….” A less modest guerrilla gallery goer replied, “Quick! Go see what’s up now before mother nature and human stupidity erase what’s left.”
Éric-Olivier Thériault
The inevitable and wanton destruction of what artworks survive this year’s hurricane season will speak to a systemic issue in Halifax’s city planning. Numerous artists in this exhibition make reference to how our civic spaces are used and misused. The ephemerality of constructive, non-profit driven, non-nepotistic artists’ spaces is what this show really speaks to. The pushback this exhibit gives is a welcome commentary on what Haligonians call their peninsula and feel about how it is managed. Well done, AC World! I look forward to seeing the printed catalogue.
Liam O’Brien
Note: Since time of writing Andrew Thornes’ loose series of paper drawings have gone with the wind, Éric-Olivier Thériault’s inflatable sculpture is MIA, Neil Kehler’s framed photos disappeared without a trace, and Lilli Maud Dobell’s satirical street signs have been stolen. And presumably an overly safety-conscious park keeper evicted Liam O’Brien’s wooden love seat from Point Pleasant. Still at large and for your viewing pleasure (as of Monday): Krista Grunsky’s Up and Over ladder sculpture, Alek Green’s Ocean Music, Rafael Zakia’s hastily thrice-rescued oil paintings, and Gregor Chiasson’s public library box, as well as works by Robin Jarvis, Kliz Brons, Charvel Rappos, Merín ab Brein, Gavin Snow, Fanny Desroches, Tanea Hynes, Shea Osborn, and Saba Blyden-Taylor
Krista Grunsky
Pathways continues indefinitely.
AC World: https://acworld.hotglue.me/
The exhibition is partially accessible.
Merryn Tresidder is an artist and writer from Kernow (Cornwall) and an uninvited guest in Nova Scotian Mi’kma’ki. He has graduated from the University of Westminster (UK) and the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design. Tresidder is a native Briton and a Celtic language enthusiast.