Annea Lockwood and Erik Waterkotte exhibits at FAB Gallery
I grew up in the country so when I first moved to the city the absence of coyote calls and frog song, coupled with the ever-present urban light, made it impossible for me to sleep. One of the ways I coped was to put on a CD of nature sounds as I got ready for bed. This sounds cheesy as I write it, but we often don’t think very deeply about the sounds that surround us day to day. We become accustomed to the hum and buzz of life around us, barraged by noise, our brains become masters of sorting and prioritizing the messages contained within the cacophony.
Annea Lockwood takes the sounds of nature that we sadly miss here in the city and uses them to paint an aural picture of the Housatonic river. FAB gallery is a perfect place to experience Annea’s work, so set aside some time to immerse yourself in the sounds of the river exploration. Speakers surrounding the sitting area bathe you in nature and the sounds made while exploring the river. You can trace Annea’s downriver trip by watching a timer and finding the various times noted on the large map in front of you, but I recommend just closing your eyes and letting the sounds sweep you away from Edmonton and our cold November weather.
Downstairs, Erik Waterkotte’s Principa Rerum de Lumine in Tenebris captures your reverence in a different note. His work explores the rituals of religion and magic, and the imagery lends itself to an experience of symbolic worship.
Symbolism from western Christianity and Freemasonry meld together much in the way his installations do, with opacity and transparency manipulated with light and darkness to give you hints and glimpses of ceremonies and rituals underway. Erik’s exhibit gives you a tenuous grip on meaning at most, which in turn creates a space in which you must question what meaning you yourself are gathering from the space surrounding you.
In short, a journey of a different sort than Annea’s, but no less expansive.
Presenter: FAB Gallery
Event Titles:
Erik Waterkotte: Principa Rerum de Lumine in Tenebris
Annea Lockwood: A Sound Map of the Housatonic River: 4-channel sound installation
Date: November 1-26, 2016 from 7:00-10:00 p.m.
Venue: FAB Gallery (1-1 Fine Arts Building, University of Alberta)
Admission: Free