Several Camosun alumni have their work displayed in an ongoing exhibit, It’s In the Making, at the Victoria Art Gallery, but what’s on display is different than what’s usually at art shows. Exhibit co-curator Nicole Stanbridge says that the exhibit is about how artists actually create their work.
“A lot of this show is about artist process and how they are working through their familiarity of materials,” she says, “as well as how much risk they take and how much they push the potential of materials.”
Three former Camosun students are currently involved in the exhibit. Stanbridge says that they were all noticed because of their risk-taking nature.
“Thinking about the artists in the show, they take risks and they challenge themselves and they learn through failure,” she says. “You have to be willing to take risks and be open to where that takes you.”
Nathan Bomford is one of the former Camosun students; Bomford, who graduated in 2001 from the Visual Arts program, collaborated with his brother and father on a piece centred on construction.
“We have produced a fairly large-scale installation, and it’s mainly comprised of wood and various other construction components,” says Bomford. “Essentially, what it looks like when you walk into the gallery is a bunch of lumber, and you can actually walk around the lumber and the environment we’ve built and kind of see how it unfolds.”
Bomford says that this particular piece is different from what is normally found in art galleries due to its physical form.
“I hate to call it a sculpture, because it’s not something you can merely see through imagery,” he says. “It’s something you can physically move through the space. It’s an experience type of thing instead of strictly visual.”
Bomford feels that studying at Camosun helped to drive him further with each art piece. He says it gave him a good baseline understanding of art as a practice, which he says is crucial.
“Of course, the faculty was great, and I feel very lucky to have been with the people I was with,” he says. “But I think that one of the most important things that I got out of my time there was just a real change in how to view the world. Looking at things through the lens of an artist, it just really opens up so many different ways of looking.”
Stanbridge and Bomford both see the difference between success and failure in the world of art as a matter of risk. Bomford says one of the best things about studying art in school is that you get the chance to make mistakes and work outside of your comfort level.
“It’s a very positive thing, being in an environment that allows you to fail, and that was something I struggled with,” says Bomford. “I always saw myself as a good artist and because of that I didn’t want to fail things. I think that’s probably one of the most important things—just don’t be afraid to fail.”
Stanbridge agrees that experiencing failure and embracing experimentation helps to improve an artist’s ability.
“It’s a competitive world, and I think the thing with all these artists in our show is that they take risks and they challenge themselves and they learn through failure and experimentation. You have to be aware and curious of where that takes you, and I think in a lot of ways that’s one of the biggest things about being an artist.”
It’s In the Making
Until Sunday, February 12, 2017
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
aggv.ca