Wouldn’t it be Nice if We Felt the Same by Lauren Balderama
April 5, 2018Along the Way by Tyler Loeffler
April 5, 2018Exhibition runs May 1—July 14, 2018
Opening May 17, 2018 from 6-8pm.
This exhibition is part of the 2018 Medalta International Artists in Residence program.
Kristin Ayla Murray grew up on the vast prairies of Manitoba and takes inspiration from those familiar scenes. Vestiges of farm history sitting on road corners, machinery familiar and yet mysterious if you weren’t around to see it operate. Technology exists through invention and invention is a product of individual innovation. In the exhibition, Parts Unknown, Kristin explores invention not for practical, industrial purpose, but for its antithesis, surreal, one-of-a-kind works that exist in a world of limitless possibility.
The machines in this exhibition are marvels of engineering. Curiosities constructed using soda fired ceramic, wood, and hardware–aged to depict those familiar farm relics. Rendered so realistically one wonders if these are true artifacts from a time not far gone?
Artist statement
Much of our knowledge of the past comes from the observation and contextualization of the detritus left behind by our ancestors. Parts Unknown is an exploration of how the fragmented and seemingly alien relics of agricultural evolution, found scattered across the Canadian prairies, may be understood by anthropologists in years to come. These objects are imbued with intent and necessity, although by repurposing industrial machinery to fulfill a domestic need they become foreign yet familiar. This reimagining of artifacts allows for an altered perception of our own history and gives way to interpretation of our society from the periphery.
—Kristin Ayla Murray
Artist Biography
Kristin Murray is an emerging ceramic artist, born in Brandon, Manitoba in 1991. She began her academic career studying forensic archaeology at Brandon University, but later moved to Winnipeg where she graduated from the University of Manitoba’s School of Art with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours Degree in 2015. Her first contact with clay came quite late in her studies, but proved to be a defining moment for her as it seamlessly connected her passion for craft, love of history and endless curiosity about the world and those who inhabit it.
