For the Carrion by Olivia Rozema

Exhibition 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.

Olivia Rozema approaches her work with the methodical precision of a scientist. Through documenting and rendering the anatomy of a roadkill rabbit she studies the forms and textures of decomposition. Those that most interest her as sculpture slowly grow in size until they are fully realized large scale formal objects. Objects somewhat abstracted and yet still reminiscent of their origins.

The exhibition, For the Carrion, pays tribute to the process of decay. A process inherent to all of life and one Olivia knows well. The shapes of decomposition, removed from their natural context and enlarged, reside in the space between the familiar and the unfamiliar. Such that a rabbit, may be seen not just as a whole, but as a complex network of parts.

Artist statement

For the Carrion is an exhibition of sculptures inspired by close study of a decomposing roadkill bunny over a period of several months. Although the decomposition process is seemingly grotesque, it is an essential part of the nutrient cycle and is worth thorough and thoughtful consideration. Dedicated to decay in all of its glory, each sculpture is made to look like a fossil or artefact, inviting us to look closely at what otherwise might seem repulsive. As artefacts, my sculptures present a new way to approach decay that emphasizes the beauty and energy of this natural process rather than its abject connotations.

Emulating the format of catalogued specimens each sculpture is titled with a number. These titles are a reference to the day of decomposition on which the sculpture is based as well as how many sculptures have been made from that day. For example, the sculpture which represents the bunny’s foot is called D.18.4, this means that this is the 4th sculpture based on the 18 th day of decomposition.

—Olivia Rozema

Artist Biography

Olivia Rozema is Canadian Artist from Grimsby, Ontario. She received a BaH in Visual Art and Classics from McMaster University in 2014 and an MFA at the University of Regina in 2016. Olivia’s sculptures embody a type of self-knowledge. Their forms suggest something we feel we should recognize but cannot place. They have an uncanny resemblance to the real, however, they are skewed. Removed from their natural context and enlarged, they reside in the space between the familiar and the unfamiliar, dramatizing the anxious relationship between insides and outsides, and our general disassociation from the parts that make up wholes.