The new exhibit traces ‘the spectrum of futurity in all its tempting humours and horrors’
A slightly dark vibe fills Surrey Art Gallery in a new exhibit featured during the most sunshine-filled days of the year.
Admission is free to see Future Memoria, in which “paradise and disaster collide” in an exhibition of art from both the gallery’s permanent collection and some loaned works, by close to three dozen artists.
The art show is about hope, fear and the ways in which the desire for a better life haunts our collective human endeavours, according to an introduction posted at the entrance of the exhibit, which opens Saturday, July 6, with an artist talk and performance, 6:30 p.m. start.
“Although many of the artworks address dark themes, my hope is that visitors do not leave in a state of despair,” said Rhys Edwards, SAG’s assistant curator.
“Rather, the narratives on display in this exhibition convey the persistence with which we seek to imagine what a good life looks like, or a bad one. They speak to the perennial necessity of imagination as a force for change in the world.”
The exhibit traces “the spectrum of futurity in all its tempting humours and horrors,” according to a media advisory. Visitors will encounter “lush fantasies of aesthetic splendour and abundance, as in the animations of Alex McLeod and Laura Lamb, as well as the spectres of nuclear apocalypse depicted by textile artist Barbara Todd or printmaker Doug Biden.” Featured elsewhere are idealistic self-help programs, artificial landscapes and the dominance of technological solutions.
Sculptures, photographs, video, drawings and more are featured in Future Memoria, on view on until Aug. 25.
The July 6 “Summer Opening” event at Surrey Art Gallery will also commemorate the closure of ARTS 2024, the annual open-juried art exhibition held in collaboration with the Arts Council of Surrey, with the People’s Choice Award announced. The reception will include an Edwards-moderated panel discussion with Future Memoria exhibiting artists Jim Adams, Miki Aurora and jil p. weaving, followed by an art performance from the PLOT community garden project and music by Miki Aurora.
Later this summer, on Aug. 10 from 2 to 5 p.m., an exhibition tour will be co-led by Edwards and Roxanne Panchasi, Simon Fraser University professor.
Also planned is a free-admission Family Art Party at Surrey Art Gallery on Saturday, July 13 from noon to 4 p.m. The event offers a chance to sculpt cities, create controllers, make mini-museums and hear the music of Stephen Hamm, Theramin Man. Kids must be with an adult at the event.
All of the artists whose work is featured in Future Memoria are, in alphabetical order, Jim Adams, Vikky Alexander, Miki Aurora, Doug Biden, Sylvia Grace Borda, Marcus Bowcott, Judy Chartrand, FASTWURMS, Colette French, Tsēmā Igharas, Carole Itter, Daniel Jolliffe, Katherine Knight, Laura Lamb, Keith Langergraber, Gary Lee-Nova, Micah Lexier, Don and Cora Li-Leger, Alex McLeod, Myfanwy MacLeod, Carel Moiseiwitsch, Margaret Naylor, David Neel, Tom Nickson, David Ostrem, the PLOT community garden project, Haris Sheikh, Meera Margaret Singh, Heather Kai Smith, Jer Thorp, Barbara Todd, jil p. weaving, Anna Wong and Robert Youds.
