Tuesday, November 25, 2008

L'or du Bleu - Live Smart Livie Green, October 25 2008

Following the heel of my Open Studio event was the weekend of Live Smart Live Green in Westmount. October 25 2008. This was a public awareness event organized by the local community group, Healthy City, to raise awareness about living our life ecologically and responsibly.

As part of this Healthy City project, back in the summer, the local association invited submission to participate in a special exhibition of works made from or about recycled materials. Well, I talked myself into pursuing a spark of an idea and talked Edmund, my son, into cooperating with me and submitted a proposal: "Techno-Obliviation". Well our submission was selected so we went to work. The following is a direct quote of our statement for the piece that we completed. It was one of a collection of 18 accepted entries shown at the Victoria Hall Gallery October 22-25, 2008.

Techno-Obliviation – L’or du bleu
by Lily Lam and Edmund Lam
October 2008

Modern technology pushes the current of change ever forward. In recent decades, the speed of flow is especially remarkable. Successive waves of techno-oblivation leave recognizable ripple marks in landfill sites everywhere. Yet, many time-honoured textile skills persist, serving as the common thread that links ancient and modern cultures; holding together our social fabric and daily life. We only have to pay a little more attention to become aware of these ever-present influences.
This mural uses the discards from notable generations of digital technology to mark off areas of contiguous space defined by the ever-expanding Fibonacci series. Through this space the three spirals of natural, cultural and technological progression march forward. Although the project plan was drafted using computer-aided-design, its construction falls back on the use of time-honoured manual techniques of spinning, weaving, stitching and knotting. Structurally reminiscent of conventional quilt making, the materials used are anything but typical.

This is the second time this mother and son team collaborates to complete a “quilting” project together. In each case, the project involved using discarded materials that are no longer considered valuable or desirable to express a thoughtful idea in an aesthetically pleasing manner. In completing this project, we obliviated techno junk from our home, as well as built up a stash of enticing components for creative play.



To have a virtual visit to the exhibition of L'or du bleu, visit my web album at http://picasaweb.google.ca/MoonGlowStudio/LOrBleuOct2008##
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