TIME MACHINE FOR ABANDONED FUTURES
Colin Lyons
The Cube
March 28 to June 13, 2015
Curated by Craig Willms, Assistant Curator, Kamloops Art Gallery
Colin Lyons’ recent work fuses printmaking, sculpture and chemical experiments, pushing the role of the etching plate beyond its traditional boundaries as a re-enactment of the rise and fall of industrial economies. He explores industry through the lens of fragility and impermanence, considering planned obsolescence and the nature of what we choose to preserve. Lyons adapts etching plates and uses acid to create batteries that reclaim decaying industrial parts. Once restored, the surfaces are coated with a resist material. The artist then traces over the restored surfaces, submerging them in a bath of etching acid. The results create a contour map that marks the traces of decay.
Colin Lyons grew up in “Canada’s original oil boomtown” of Petrolia, Ontario, an experience that has influenced his interests in industrial ruins and sacrificial landscapes. His work has been shown in solo exhibitions across Canada and in group exhibitions internationally. Recent exhibitions include Platform Stockholm (Stockholm, Sweden), The Soap Factory (Minneapolis, Minnesota), SPACES (Cleveland, Ohio), OBORO (Montreal, Quebec), Judith and Norman Alix Art Gallery (Sarnia, Ontario), and Kala Art Institute (Berkeley, California). He has been the recipient of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Quebec, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Installation view of: Colin Lyons
Time Machine for Abandoned Futures
Photo: Devon Lindsay
