Friday 5 December
-1°C and Broken Clouds
Agnes will open Saturday, 6 Dec at 1:00 pm.
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Artists
Marney McDiarmid and Clelia Scala
Mural by Lee Stewart
Poem by Sadiqa de Meijer
Sound by Matt Rogalsky
Opening reception: 19 September, 6:00–8:00 pm
The Clearing is open during the same hours as our off-site gallery, also located at 207 Stuart St.
The Clearing
In this installation, Marney McDiarmid and Clelia Scala reimagine a shipping container to transport viewers from a space of global commodity to an organic ecosystem that values introspection, delight, and connection. Inspiration for the work derives from the wilderness practice of the sit spot, a mindfulness practice of sitting in nature and observing the world around you. Using clay, paper, and mixed materials, McDiarmid and Scala have created pieces based on their engagement with the “natural” world. Viewers are invited to participate in an act of regeneration by bringing personal documents to the exhibit (old letters, journal entries, notes), shredding them, and adding them to the artists’ landscape. With The Clearing, Marney and Clelia seek moments of solace and relief amid a chaotic, distressing, and simultaneously glorious world.
The installation features a poem by Sadiqa de Meijer, a soundscape by Matt Rogalsky, and a mural by Lee Stewart.
Marney McDiarmid is a Kingston-based queer ceramicist and visual artist. She uses beauty as a tool for engagement by creating lush, sensuous pieces that call up notions of replenishment and often explore the climate crisis. Her work embodies notions of care, consideration, and connection. Marney’s website and Instagram.
Clelia Scala is a multidisciplinary artist whose work includes installations, collage, and mask and puppet design. Her explorations into the fantastic and uncanny stem from a lifelong engagement with tales and myths and her interest in the theme of human interaction with the natural world. She teaches in the Dan School of Drama & Music at Queen’s University. Clelia’s website and Instagram.
Sadiqa de Meijer is a Governor General’s Literary Award winning, locally-based, poet of Dutch-Kenyan-Pakistani-Afghani background. Themes of her work include landscape, migration, motherhood, racism, language, and spirituality. Sadiqa’s website and Instagram.
Matt Rogalsky is an internationally recognized artist and performer in live electroacoustic music and sound installation. Matt’s website.
Lee Stewart is a self-taught artist who grew up in Kashechewan, a fly-in community in Northern Ontario. By using a palette influenced by the vibrant hues of Canada’s seasons, the saturated images of the internet, and the Old Masters, Lee strives to bridge the traditional and contemporary to create a new liminal space. He currently lives and works in Kingston, Ontario. Lee’s website and Instagram.
