Tree houses are an iconic part of childhood. So it makes sense that a trip back to her hometown in Ontario was the start of The Tree House Project (THP) for multidisciplinary Toronto-based artist Jennie Suddick.
THP is an art exhibit of architectural models based off drawings of tree houses that others sketched in a workshop in Victoria last year.
“It was a time for self-reflection,” says Suddick. “I also realized I wanted to bring in other people’s experiences, and a real diversity of experiences.”
Those who drew the original sketches came and sat with Suddick and talked about nature-related plans they had as children, plans that included tree houses. People drew their tree houses, some of which Suddick only used as a rough guideline for the finished models.
“It sort of materialized to be about this idea of a tree house as a place to really make one’s own space,” says Suddick. “It was kind of connected to both that urge for a sense of autonomy, but also thinking about how this quintessential idea of childhood is one most of us have, and yet we kind of dream of it.”
Those dreams started to become a reality for Suddick when she started spending hours and hours in the studio—working mainly with paper and glue—to create the models. The process of creating models from others’ sketches made Suddick think of herself as a contractor, she says.
“I looked at where there were similarities, or also where things were really unique in people’s designs, and what I was drawn to,” she says. “A lot of them are hybrids of different people’s ideas.”
Architectural models are Suddick’s medium of preference because of what they represent.
“I like working with architectural models as an aesthetic because architectural models have this promise of something that is possible,” says Suddick. “It kind of makes it seem like this is a proposition… And then also just creating the model itself. It is a realization of these people’s ideas.”
She has to find a balance between what is possible with what she has to work with and what seems impossible, she says.
“There are some that are just hanging in the air and don’t look like buildings until you see the shape formed by the shadows; so I take on the challenges as well as ones that might not really be possible,” says Suddick. “But yet, I still want to make them tangible for the people in some way.”
From material explorations to paper folding, gluing, and cutting, Suddick works long hours in her studio and says a key part to the creative process is getting out into the world and getting feedback.
“I’ve learnt a lot about myself, that I really like to have that community around me and let things form through discussion. I think a lot of artists work that way,” says Suddick. “It’s just in many varying degrees. If you share a studio with someone, or you’ve been in school, they’re working a lot with expanding ideas through the conversations with others.”
Suddick says that while she would love to have the models made into full-size tree houses, there are no definite plans for that yet, as that comes with complications, such as where she will put the large tree houses.
“The plans are my dreams,” she says. “If there’s anyone out there who hears about this or sees the exhibition that would like to make that possible… there’s definitely the potential there. I would love that.”
The Tree House Project
Until Saturday, July 28
Free (donations welcome), Open Space
openspace.ca