La Robe Jardin Mobile

La Robe Jardin Mobile (The Mobile Garden Dress) was in Montreal this spring for the Rendez-vous Horticole garden show at the Montreal Botanical Garden. Dji Haché animated the dress for 3 days and her enthusiasm was infectious with the thousands of people who came through and watered her plants and tasted her herbs. These were selected and donated by Josée Archambault  of Les Aromes du Petit Coteau. The month of May was also the time of nightly demonstrations on the streets of Montreal, which became known as Les Casseroles. We heard about lawyers actually protesting so we took La Robe Jardin Mobile …

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Cranberry Beaded Mini

This mini dress was made entirely  from natural materials- Wear it and Compost it! The intention of this outfit made with super antioxidant cranberries was that it would be trashed as the dancer wore it. We did a formal studio photo shoot of the dress intact and then let model/dancer Nita Bowerman go wild and dance her little heart out. The result is that cranberries were squished and Chinese Lanterns went flying! This is my first foray into video so it will be a while until i have an edit of this fantastical performance but i am really looking forward to this project. …

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FASHIONALITY

FASHIONALITY, dress and identity in Contemporary Canadian Art Fashionality is a new exhibition curated by Julia Pine at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection Gallery in Kleinburg Ontario. This exhibit features 23 Canadian artists who work with the theme of the garment. The show runs from May 5th to September 03, 2012 and the opening reception is on Sunday May 13. I will be showing photos of my IceShifts and my Weedrobes series, plus a new video on my work. I will also be doing an art residency at the McMichael from June 17th to July 1st. There i will create a …

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Pharos

Pharos consisted of six blocks of ice with fabric embedded in them created during the Winterlude Festival in Ottawa Canada in February 2012. The 5 foot high blocks of  ice were created outdoors in situ and the garments were meant to represent the early days of winter Carnivals. The piece was installed in Confederation Park, along with 10 other artists who were part of the BlizzArt exhibition. It took a week for the ice to freeze due to the unseasonal warm weather in Ottawa- they even had to close down the Rideau Canal to skaters for a few days. Big thanks goes …

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Pommes Maison

Pommes Maison was an installation I created for the Land Art Mont-St-Hilaire festival in Québec from October 12th to the 16th 2011, where I was one of 10 artists invited to create sculptures in a working apple orchard within 4 days. It was a challenge to find and harvest my materials and then construct my piece in such a short time frame, in all weather but it was well worth it. On October 16, the exhibition opened to the public and I witnessed people of all ages interact with the apple/skirt/shelter. My sculpture was constructed around an apple tree and consisted …

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Laurel Suffragette

In September 2011, Laurel Suffragette was created  and conceived as a character coming from the late Victorian age, who had been active in the emancipation of women and the garment industry of her day, who had fought for reforms and safety in the manufacture area.  Miss Laurel Green-Fairfashion was curious to see how the future had turned out, so she  took a stroll down Robsonstrasse, Vancouver’s fashion district, to see what shoppers had to say regarding eco-fashion. The interventions varied from long one on one conversations, to people ignoring her because they suspected she was selling something, to having her picture taken with babies, to engaging …

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Maple Flapper Jumper

The Maple Flapper Jumper symbolizes hope for new beginnings. Fresh off the boat and in honour of her new Canadian home, she wears a dress of Sycamore Maple Tree Seeds, which resembles the liberated woman of the 1920’s. Emancipated from the Victorian corset  and with her unincombered boyish bob, she is now able to move freely and make her mark in this new port. As a young entrepreneur, will she open a garment factory  that pays a living wage to its workers, or will she become disillusioned and turn it into a sweatshop? Her future is still a mystery but she …

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Art Is Land Network

I am a founding member of The Art Is Land Network, a Vancouver based group of artists who work within the environmental art genre. The common thread for these 9 artists is their engagement with landscape. From September 8 to the 18th 2011, we will be hosting our first exhibition, art (IS)LAND on Granville Island with 11 outdoor installations. Under the theme: the island as microcosm of the world, the artists will employ natural and repurposed materials to engage the public in the various aspects of this popular urban site, such as history, industry, boating and local flora. The projects will be accessible …

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The Mobile Garden Dress

The Mobile Garden Dress is a self-sustaining garden and shelter for the new urban nomad, complete with pots of edible plants and a hoop skirt which converts into a tent at night. This garment is 100% compostable and recyclable. It is contrusted from natural materials such as Willow, basketry reed, grasses and leaves. The hoop skirt is covered in pots containing live edible plants such as herbs and vegetables. The dress advocates for an autonomous and democratic urban lifestyle based on self-sufficiency. During the day, Madame Jardin interacts with people and engages them in conversations about plants, gardens and composting. At night she …

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Stop and smell the flowers

The Lilac Swing Coat is a new addition to my Weedrobes Collection. It reminds us that the olfactory senses are a basic element in nature used by plants, animals and mammals alike. Here there is no need for manufactured artificial scent, the redolent flower itself entices our nostrils. On the day of the photo-shoot in front of the historic Marine Building, passersby stopped and took in the garment’s aroma. This manteau parfumé of fresh scented Lilac flowers epitomizes the perfume industry, in particular the seductive ads of Chanel No 5 featuring Catherine Deneuve who stood for luxury and sophistication. The coat …

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IceShifts Feb 2011

I have been continuing my exploration of frozen garments in blocks of ice. This new piece is a turning point for me where I have begun to incorporate plant materials into the mix. Julie Taymor’s scene of Lavinia in her film Titus has stayed with me for a long time; her hands cut off and turned into branches. In my artwork though, the organic elements symbolize a redemption of sorts, where nature regenerates itself and life continues despite tragedy.

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Nato Thompson

I went to hear Nato Thompson speak last week and I really enjoyed his energy, style and what he had to say. He is the chief curator at Creative Time, New York’s premiere public art organization. His attitude towards public art was refreshing. He advocates for art that really reaches out to the public and is not afraid to tackle the hard questions. For example he spoke about supporting a project by artist, Paul Chan which re-staged Waiting for Godot in the deep South after Hurricane Katrina. To avoid the pitfalls of creating art in a situation where there is palpable racial …

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