Chantal New
Opening: Friday, January 4th, 7–9:00 PM
The show runs Friday, January 4th through
Sunday, January 20th, 2019
Gallery Hours:
Saturdays and Sundays, 11 am to 4 pm,
or by appointment.
Chantal New’s first solo exhibition, “be honest. but don’t”, is an exploration of femininity and vulnerability. Her series of installations and drawings document the internal narrative of the female experience and the anxious thoughts that often define puberty and womanhood.
The body of work for this exhibition began with the creation of five hand-stitched books featuring a series of short poems. The self-reflexive quips are intimate and reminiscent of personal journals. Created using hand stitching and the outmoded technology of Letraset, these poetic and raw “books” present the journal as an aesthetic object.
Through these journals, notes passed in class, and embroidered bed sheets, she explores themes that typically define women’s experiences; insecurity, embodiment, and intimacy. The work examines scripts of femininity and the contradicting messages of a hyper-sexualized culture. With delicate drawings and minimalist collages, she investigates the reduction of women to the external and the unprecedented scrutiny and commodification that accompanies it.
Acknowledging the unique challenges that afflict women, the work questions a male-centric definition of femininity and is an invitation to examine the narrow-minded scripts we have been handed.
Artist’s Bio
Chantal New is a mixed media artist and painter. She attained her BA in Art+Design from Trinity Western University in 2015 and currently lives and works in Victoria, BC. Her work explores themes of memory, femininity and the intersections between environmental and cultural geographies.
