The Weight of Time
September 6 to 22, 2024
Through drawing, sculptural installation, and large-scale photography, the work of Chantal New examines the conditions of contemporary life, often defined by grief, disconnection, and injustice. Inspired by the physical and social architecture of carceral institutions, The Weight of Time explores the oppressive nature of time within a capitalist framework.
Black and white images are combined with the language of taxonomy and bureaucracy to emphasize the underlying violence of our everyday systems. The core of the work is expressed in the gaps and deliberate omissions within images, communicating through what is hidden or unseen, rather than through what is depicted. Through strategies of fragmenting and combining, cropping and concealing, Chantal investigates both the visible and invisible barriers that pervade society.
The work of Chantal New is driven by a critical interest in structures and systems. Her expanded drawing practice takes form across sculptural installation, collage, photography, and the re-contextualizing of found objects. The diverse approaches are utilized to address issues ranging from the political to the aesthetic. Her most recent body of work is an inquiry into the powerful and complex nature of controlled visuality leveraged in systems of separation and punishment.
Functioning as singular components of a larger whole, drawings, photographic images, and three-dimensional objects are combined to explore themes of control and disconnection. Through strategies of fragmenting and combining, cropping and concealing, Chantal investigates both the visible and invisible barriers that permeate society.
Chantalโs subject is expressed in the gaps and deliberate omissions within her images, communicating through what is hidden or unseen, rather than through what is depicted. The viewer is limited to a glimpse, a small aperture, or an object without context. This practice of revealing and concealing emphasizes the ways in which control over what is seen can both uphold dominant power structures or offer a point of resistance.
In work that is minimal yet emotionally charged, Chantal highlights the unjust hierarchies that persist at the core of social structures that surround us. Using both a representational and conceptual approach, her work reveals how our vision is โcloudedโ in the everyday and at a systemic level.
Opening night:
Friday, September 6, 2024, 7 to 9 p.m.
Gallery hours:
Continues every weekend from Saturday, September 7 until Sunday, September 22 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
About the Artist
Chantal New (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist motivated by the intersections of art and social justice. Her expanded drawing practice takes form across sculptural installation, collage, photography, and the re-contextualizing of found objects. The diverse approaches are utilized to address issues ranging from the political to the aesthetic.
She currently lives and works on the traditional territories of the lษkฬ wษลษn (Songhees and Esquimalt) and WฬฑSรNEฤ peoples, colonially known as Victoria, B.C.
You can find more information about Chantal and her art on her website and on Instagram.
Xchanges gratefully acknowledges the support of the Province of British Columbia and the Capital Regional District for our gallery programs.
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