“In the midst of meeting the ground I am experiencing a quiet revolution.”
So writes Renée Poisson about her upcoming exhibition Meeting the Ground. It opens Jan. 22 at the Comox Valley Art Gallery, 580 Duncan Ave. in Courtenay, with an artist talk, performance and reception starting at 6 p.m.
The multi-faceted exhibition, which will run until the closing event on March 5, consists of sculptural elements, printed material, video projection and collaboration performances.
Poisson, a Comox Valley resident who has been practising art for five decades, is conducting a performance residency prior to the opening as she prepares and installs the exhibition.
Poisson’s work is immersive, with an emphasis on dissolving identity through her ongoing experience of walking towards death as an ordinary aging person.
She uses the repeated practice of deliberate uncontrolled falling and video documentation to examine the movement.
Her performance, We Rise We Fall is collaboratively constructed with Susan Cook, Ann Marie Lisch, Nicole Crouch, Trudy Beaton and Holly Bright.
In conjunction with Meeting the Ground, there will be a community exhibition entitled Falling.
It will include the work of local school groups and ongoing participatory art-making in response to Poisson’s exhibition.
There will also be workshops and all-ages Make Art Saturdays in conjunction with the exhibition.
The workshops, led by storyteller and teacher Margo McLoughlin, will include sessions up to an hour long for children and youth, and longer sessions for adults. The children and youth workshops are booked through school programs. The adult workshops cost $25, and advance registration is preferred.
The Make Art Saturdays are drop-ins for all ages. Admission is by donation.
Here is a full schedule for events related to Meeting the Ground.
• Friday, Jan. 22 – Opening events: artist talk 6 p.m., performance and reception 7 p.m.
• Sunday, Jan. 31 – Workshop “Meeting the Ground of Life and Death” (adults), 1 to 4 p.m.
• Monday, Feb. 1 – Workshops “Storytelling and Mindfulness” (children and youth)
• Saturday, Feb. 5 – Make Art Saturday, drop-in, all ages art-making, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Sunday, Feb. 28 – Workshop “Dancing With the Messengers” (adults), 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Monday, Feb. 29 – Workshops “Storytelling and Mindfulness” (children and youth)
• Saturday, March 5 -- Make Art Saturday, drop-in, all ages art-making, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Saturday, March 5 – Closing event: publication launch and performance, 2 p.m.
For more details or to register for a workshop, please call (250) 338-6211 or visit www.comoxvalleyartgallery.com.