Keira McArthur: After Lockdown
DEC 3 – 30 | Members’ Gallery
Reception: DEC 9, 7 pm – 10 pm
In the studio I work with a collection of canvases made from the backdrop of my previous workspace. On the largest I draw a Beech tree and use it for an interactive installation at The Cotton Factory: “What’s different for you, since the Lockdowns?”. The responses from that and from interviews underpin these pieces, are written in to them with the natural inks I’ve made. Some will fade, some will deepen. All inks will change over time, as humans do.
Visual artist, musician, writer, McArthur’s visual work explores our human response to challenge (After Lockdown, 2022; IN PLACE, 2021; Conversation Pieces, 2021), and in academic research (Seven Swans, 2019). Her artistic practice is a performance of co-creation with community, whenever possible. Keira works from her studio in Hamilton Ontario, and her cabin on Georgian Bay.
Eileen Earnshaw: In the Neighbourhood
DEC 3 – 30 | Members’ Gallery
Reception: DEC 9, 7 pm – 10 pm
Life and work have taught me that we must all remember to play and enjoy our experiences – In my case, years working as a gallery instructor and backstage in live theatre. My small visual stories revolve around impressions of locations in Hamilton that are both real and interwoven with imagination. This artistic expression moulded from working in a production industry is an exploration of the balance between process-based trades and playful observation of my surroundings. Each work is a development of what was and what could be. Old stage models and a cache of materials are harvested, deconstructed and rebuilt with elements from my life, my city and my dreams.
Eileen Earnshaw is a multi-media artist with an extensive theatre background. She has worked as an educator, set & costume designer, scenic painter, props builder and has served as head of various theatre wardrobe departments. Eileen is a graduate of NCTC with foci on Costume Design & Construction, Scenic Painting & Design. Originally from the UK, Eileen has travelled and worked across Canada, including work in gallery settings, and on theatre and movie productions in Calgary, London, Port Dover, Thunder Bay and finally Hamilton – which she now calls home.