Indigenous Artist Bio
I spent my youth scrounging around Harold’s Demolition when it stood in Kingston’s inner harbour, and since graduating from OCAD in 2007, I have been creating sculptural bas-reliefs out of similarly salvaged materials. Lately, this has been mostly lath (strips of wood left exposed in older homes when lath and plaster is being replaced by drywall) which I combine with paint, plaster, and scrap metal.
My work has won the Environmental Spirit Award from the Recycling Council of Ontario, as well as a number of local awards. I have exhibited extensively in solo and group shows in Kingston, Toronto and Eastern Ontario, and my work is in collections in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Germany. I am currently on the board of OKWA and have enjoyed curating and jurying a number of shows in Kingston, Etobicoke, and Brockville.
Artist Statement
I am part of the growing movement in contemporary art that uses “trash’ as material for art making. I create sculptural bas reliefs out of salvage: lath, household cans and scrap metal. The lath is combined with canvas, or embedded in plaster, then painted and gouged. I see these works as three dimensional landscapes, recreating the surface textures of the countryside around Kingston.
Although my materials are a critique of our current environmental practices, I am driven as much by curiosity about what can be done with them as I am by the implied message.
This current series, “View from Above”, was inspired by my recent flight to Calgary. Looking out the window of the airplane, I was riveted by the shapes and markings of the landscape far beneath me. So when the title of this show, Flight, was announced, I was determined to reproduce, in some way, the aesthetic experience I had while flying.
Email: jderby@kingston.net
Website: janederby.net
