For those exhausted by the Orwellian world in which we live, characterized by artificially generated media and the rapid consumption of novelty, The Cube will be hosting an art exhibition featuring Slug Eggs by Bree Apperley.
What might Slug Eggs have to do with art, you ask? Well, Slug Eggs is a novel body of work which signifies an awareness of a rapidly changing social climate fueled by consumption, utilitarianism and corporate greed. For Apperley, her exhibition features strategies inspired by the 1960s Italian art movement, Arte Povera, which seeks to disrupt the exploitative nature of consumption and industrialization. For Apperley, it is essential to revisit nostalgia, reminding patrons to be critical of the type of media consumed in the age of AI and cyberspace.
The Omega had the privilege of interviewing Apperley, who shared how the expression of feminism in an increasingly capitalistic world shapes not only the thematic elements of her work, but also how reimagined natural elements can be repurposed to evoke nostalgia and an appreciation for the human experience.
For those seeking an escape from the proliferation of AI-generated media, Slug Eggs will be on display at the Cube at the Kamloops Art Gallery from Jan. 17 to May 2 at 465 Victoria St. in Kamloops. Admission is free and includes complimentary wine and beer from local distributors for those of legal age.
OD: How does capitalism affect feminine expression in your work, visually or materially?
BA: The main pressure I feel from the heavy hand of our capitalist society is the urge to find a voice to express my experience. As a woman, as a mother, as someone who hasn’t really played the game of Monopoly the way it is meant to be played. I am also not good at this game, so there is that. In my artwork, I really want to bring up thoughts, feelings and associations that are in opposition to the looming hulk I see forming on the horizon. Things are not looking good, and it is easy to spiral or just give up. I want my expression in my artwork to be a beam of encouraging light. I want someone to look at a knitted blanket, or some clay and glitter, or a dusting of pollen from a sunflower and be reminded of warm things, childhood, making stuff, drawing. The show is my attempt to plant a flag of my personal experience of relationships between people, wonder in the mundane and the everyday joy of creation.
OD: Many of the materials in Slug Eggs come from domestic or consumer spaces. Why are these objects important to your feminist practice?
BA: I like to see the real world around us represented in contemporary artwork. [It’s] basically just a continuation of Andy Warhol’s soup cans, using things around you from today, from the real world–I think it gives artwork a sense of immediacy and freshness. You can relate to a part of it right away. We live in a material world, and in our Western world, we define ourselves by our consumption. The biggest Christian holiday is a massive consumer event! [I’m] drawn to domestic objects because [they’re] tied to my experience of womanhood. Life as a mother is so centred around the home, to “keeping house”. Home is both an abstract notion that [you’re] constantly giving attention to and maintaining, and a physical space that you are also giving so much attention to and are always maintaining! I was really drawn to the white plastic fencing, the yoga ball and the artificial grass as elements in my sculptures because they represent elements of “home.”
OD: Technology appears as both critique and nostalgia in Slug Eggs. How do you personally navigate that tension?
BA: I feel both critical and nostalgic for technology! I am not sure how I navigate that tension. [I’m] both scared of how fast things are happening and can remember such warm times with what was considered new technology in the past. I loved blogs and early social media, and being able to watch any movie online. I was into Myspace, and Tumblr and Flickr and so many more platforms I can’t even remember them all. I loved the sharing aspect of Web 2.0, collecting clips from YouTube or images from Google Images. The internet changed so much in my adulthood; I have tried to stay on top of it and reflect on how it has changed, and how it has changed us.
OD: Humour plays a visible role in the work. Why is humour important to you when addressing feminist or political themes?
BA: By nature, I am not a dark or serious person. So I bring that light-heartedness into my work. I think humour is such an important and overlooked tool that we humans have [in order] to make sense of things and to help process emotions. I think the deepest thinkers are funny, because if you really take in the whole human project, that is, us on Earth, just walking around with our big brains in our monkey bodies, the whole thing seems so unbelievable to me, so nonsensical and just funny. I like to take a step back and see things and make things through this lens. I think it opens up dialogue between people more than banging them over the head with dogma and heavy ideologies.
OD: Are there feminist artists or thinkers who influenced Slug Eggs, directly or indirectly?
BA: Yes! In terms of visual artists, Sarah Lucas, Tracey Emin, Louise Bourgeois [and] Niki de Saint Phalle are a few off the top of my head. I did not take a gender studies class when I went to post-secondary, but I am grateful to all of the people who came before me and tried to make life better for women.
OD: What do you hope viewers, especially women and gender-diverse audiences, take away from experiencing this exhibition?
BA: I hope people take away a sense of energy, a feminine energy, but also just a positive energy. I think things seem so dark, flat and regressive right now, and I would love it if they [come to see] the show and feel a bit of the creative light shine on them. Art can be so generative and expansive, I hope it touches them and brings them some encouragement and optimism.
The Kamloops Art Gallery is located at 101 – 465 Victoria Street in downtown Kamloops, B.C. For more information, including general admission fees and hours of operation, click here.