Summer is sadly drawing to a close once again as we anticipate a new beginning in September. Even if you aren’t going back to school this year, it is easy to feel the nostalgic yearn to curl up with a good book once the weather turns cool. If your summer reading list is still woefully incomplete, look no further than our current exhibition. Get back into the studious mode by exploring all that our current Read more…
In the spirit of artist Fiona Annis’s multidisciplinary interests in photography and astronomy, the CRAG is hosting a special event of classical music in the gallery this Thursday, August 22nd from 2 to 4 pm. An immersive acoustic performance will be a natural extension of our current contemplative, mysterious and enthralling exhibition, Fiona Annis: a portion of that which was once everything. The CRAG is pleased to present an afternoon of music in the gallery Read more…
On Saturday, August 17th, the CRAG is hosting a very special Super Saturday. Drop by the studio any time from 1 to 3 pm to make your own cyanotype sun print. This all-ages activity is open to the public and cost is by donation. All materials and instruction will be provided. Transport yourself back in time to the 1840s as cameras and photographs we just being invented. Join us for an afternoon of art-making so Read more…
Much of Fiona Annis’s artistic practice is centred around the principle of experimentation. The act of viewing these works, or visiting an exhibit for that matter, is something of an experiment in and of itself. You may have expectations, big or small; you may be an expert on the subject or wander in by chance. Either way, you are hoping to gain something – entertainment, knowledge, fulfillment. When you take the leap to experience something Read more…
Even though much of Fiona Annis’s photographic work does not make use of a camera body per se, she finds herself collecting old cameras that are given to her. She is certainly interested in the effects that historical photographic processes can produce and the many variables that leave the final image up to chance. This pair of works incidentally were created using cameras, though in a wholly unexpected way. She was recently gifted two 8” Read more…
On July 11th, the CRAG hosted an enlightening discussion with astronomer Tony Puerzer from the Nanaimo Astronomy Society and artist Fiona Annis. Their dialogue revealed several historical anecdotes that illuminate the deep inter-relation between astronomy and photography. Though the development of the camera owes much to astronomy, the reverse is also true. July 20th, 2019 marked the 50th anniversary of the Apollo mission’s lunar landing. It was the images and video footage of the event that Read more…
To speak of knowledge is futile. All is experiment and adventure. We are forever mixing ourselves in unknown quantities. -Virginia Woolf, The Waves, 1931. The artist, Fiona Annis, often works closely with text and sources from literature ranging from science fiction to philosophy. With curator Vicky Chainey Gagnon, she has selected five quotes to be interspersed with her images in the exhibition space. Our hope is that these quotes can function like the discovery of Read more…
Many of the works in this exhibition were completed in advance of Annis’s Naples residency, underscoring the importance of experimentation in the creative and scientific process. Think of how the many variations of photographic technique came to be developed. These discoveries required much study, experimentation and imagination. Silver gelatin printing refers to the material that is printed upon, usually paper, that is manufactured with layers of light-sensitive material. This printing method was developed in the Read more…
NEW EXHIBIT AT THE CRAG: JULY 11 – SEPTEMBER 4 This triptych is deceivingly simple- three shapes floating in blue squares. What are these mysterious forms? Underwater creatures, meteorites, dust specks? Could they be “portion(s) of that which once was everything,” chance pieces broken off of a whole? The exhibition title, a portion of that which was once everything, was chosen to move beyond binary thinking, and evoke the notion that at the heart of Read more…
Phōtós – graphê “drawing with light” We are looking forward to hosting Montreal-based artist Fiona Annis to the CRAG this summer in a thought-provoking solo show of her recent photographic work. This exhibition, Fiona Annis: a portion of that which once was everything, will run from July 11 to September 4. Annis recently completed a residency at the Museum of Astronomical Instruments in Naples, Italy where she explored the celestial themes of light and time Read more…