Idea of North
Visual Variations
A multimedia collage by seven Canadian artists

Galerie Jose  Peon Contreras
Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
March 19 to April 25 2010

La Raza Artists:
Francis Caprani
Alberto Cerritos
Sylvia Curtis-Norcross
Kevin Curtis-Norcross
Gerald Pedros
Esther Rausenberg
Richard Tetrault

‘Idea of North' is an 80-meter mural installation that projects the artists' vision of North. As a deep-seated part of Canada's, as well as other nations' consciousness, the North conjures up images that are at once alluring, mystical and intimidating. What enters the mind's eye, and what are the challenges, fears and dreams inhabiting Idea of North? Points of reference in this project are both individual and collective, with the resulting tapestry posing some questions of how Canadians view the North. Primarily worked on sheets of transparent Mylar film, the piece incorporates photography, painting, printmaking, graphite drawing, and stitched thread.

The genesis of the "Idea of North-Visual Variations" drew inspiration from the 1967 radio broadcast of Glenn Gould's, "The Idea of North." This series of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation interviews was conducted on a train heading into Northern Canada. Not dissimilar to these historic interviews, this contrapuntal ‘visual essay' unravels frieze-like tableaux that parallel the landscape in broad brushstrokes, echoing a vision that is in keeping with that of the Canadian North. Landscape is caught in episodic fragments, viewed as if scenes from a journey, akin to viewing the landscape through train windows as you travel past.

In mapping and linking both perceived ideas of the north with current realities, the work encompasses micro- and macro-perspectives. Latitudinal markings, denoting the extreme geographic points of Canada, play against the painterly and gestural; iconic canoes are repositories for primal figures; ghostly nudes are superimposed against and through landscapes; incursions of satellites and high-power lines ebb and flow like exclamation marks in a Tundra landscape, and handwritten script enunciates personal passions.

As a collective, the artists in this project come from diverse regions of Canada. They include sculptor/painter Alberto Cerritos, painter Francis Caprani, painter/writer Sylvia Curtis-Norcross, painter/multimedia artist Kevin Curtis-Norcross, painter Gerald Pedros, muralist/painter Richard Tetrault, and photographer Esther Rausenberg. These artists have exhibited nationally and internationally, in numerous projects in countries ranging from Europe, Argentina, Mexico, and Africa to regions of Canada and the United States.

Download the 'Idea of North' Publication

Images