Opening Postponed until Sat 2/5
Fri 2/4-Sat 3/26
SPACES’ gallery in Ohio City’s Hingetown opens two intriguing-sounding new shows this week.
French-Canadian artist Gabrielle Lajoie-Bergeron’s show, Important Papers, sprang from an envelope she found containing photos, poems and drawings by a woman from Mexico who married an American citizen, along with text written by her daughter in 1975, talking about being torn between two cultures. Lajoie-Bergeron took that as the starting point for a show that looks at the experiences of other immigrant mothers around Cleveland and Ohio. She says “I explore the idea of having your life in an 8.5 x 11 paper envelope for years and I revisit the administrative codes of immigration. How to present the life of a mother which is deeply linked to these piles of papers? How to bring the human behind the rigid administrative process of immigration? At the end, it will not be a presentation of their life or mine, but an eclectic constellation of moments in life influenced by the administration of another country.’’
Bitter Sweet by Cleveland artist Erykah Townsend delves into the dark side of children’s activities, games and the cartoons many grew up on. She looks at how fun and violence were intertwined in old kids’ cartoons and how children’s party games could encourage aggressive behavior that mimics adult conflicts.
Both shows will be on view through March 26.