Victoria Verge and zev teifenbach are MFA candidates at UBCO. The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies would like to thank Kelowna Art Gallery for hosting the exhibition What is Fragile? from April 20th to July 12th 2024.
What is Fragile? is an exploration into the delicate interplay of memory, movement, and resilience through the lens of Kelowna-based artist Victoria Verge and Salmon Arm-based artist zev tiefenbach. Through their distinct yet complementary artistic inquiries, Verge and tiefenbach illuminate the fragility of our passage through the internal and external architecture of our lives.
tiefenbach’s sprawling archival installation, these are fragile days, invites viewers to immerse themselves in the intricacies of the artist’s personal archive, fostering new connections and narratives within the labyrinthine corridors of memory. This introspective journey includes a meticulous assembly of photographs, videos, and textual reflections, as tiefenbach constructs a poignant narrative of survival and witness while navigating the precarious landscape of post-genocidal trauma and environmental decline.
Verge’s sculptural meditations on movement and stillness in her series Chasing the Echoes of Home beckon viewers to contemplate the ephemeral nature of home and belonging. Rooted in her nomadic military upbringing and Newfoundland heritage, Verge’s static house sculptures pulsate with the latent energy of potential movement, echoing the eternal quest for stability amidst displacement. With each auditory activation, audiences are drawn into a visceral dialogue between stasis and motion, prompting introspection on the fluid boundaries of domesticity and community.
Victoria Verge
Victoria Verge is a multi-medium artist of settler and Mi’kmaw ancestry, currently residing on the unceded and traditional territory of the Syilx Okanagan people. In 2016, she obtained a BFA from Memorial University of Newfoundland, specializing in visual arts with a minor in art history. Currently in her second year as an MFA candidate at UBC Okanagan, Verge’s creative pursuits are deeply rooted in her personal history. The recurring theme of relocation, influenced by her father’s military service, guides her work as she actively navigates the multifaceted construct of ‘home’. Verge’s art has been showcased in national and international group and solo exhibitions and has garnered support and recognition from various arts institutions, awards, and scholarships.
zev tiefenbach
Born in Toronto as a second-generation Canadian, zev tiefenbach is a settler artist living on unceded secwépemc territory. He has a BFA from Concordia University (Photography/Creative Writing) and is an MFA Candidate at UBCO (Visual Arts).
tiefenbach’s grandparents are holocaust survivors and tiefenbach was raised within a post-traumatic ethos where imminent catastrophe was superimposed over the quotidian. His childhood was spent in a city where the dissonance between his middle-class surroundings and his own internalized sense of victimhood instilled a curiosity to explore the intersection between landscape, trauma and narrative.
More information can be found on Kelowna Art Galleries website: https://kelownaartgallery.com/what-is-fragile/
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