work | play is a piece which explores duality in my identity as a worker and a recreationist. My approach is partly inspired by Sophie Calle's In Character: Self-Portrait of the Artist as Another installation, where the motivation is to display my physical possessions which represent both sides of my identity. Referencing a line from Themes of Contemporary Art - Identity, "identity is expressed by other means as well, including by words, symbols, objects, and settings" (Robertson, McDaniel). The way Rodney Graham stages the scenes he want to photograph also influenced the importance of setting up the display in my work. A few of his photos omit himself as the subject which expresses his identity as an artist, such as Potatoes Blocking My Studio Door.

In this context, the hanging lightbox installation acts as a framing device for the shelf that holds my video game collection, particularly the games that I have yet to complete. The arrangement of game boxes seem unstable, uncertain if they will hold up. Obscured in the shadows is my laptop, open with a computer programming environment and a public list of my projects, many unfinished. Barely visible is my hand reaching out to the keyboard to continue working. Both the games and the laptop are physical manifestations of burdens that help uphold my identity: the type of player I am derived from the games I buy and display, and the type of programmer I am based on the projects I have worked on. It is a show of my struggle against material obsession, the pursuit of a balance between owning so many games but not playing them due to my studies and work, and so many unfinished projects due to making time for playing video games. Behind, the light peeking through the crevices is eerie with an unknown source, invoking an ambiguous emotion, reflecting my conflicting views.

The title work | play is a reference to computer programming logic where the two operands work and play are evaluated as work OR play and if one of these is true, then the statement is true, further expressing the dual presence of the two parts of my identity.


Works Cited:

Graham, Rodney. Potatoes Blocking My Studio Door. Digital image. Rodney Graham | Artists | 303 Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2016. <http://www.303gallery.com/artists/rodney-graham?view=slider#29>.

In Character - Self Portrait of the Artist as Another (Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival Catalogue 2014)

Robertson, Jean, and Craig McDaniel. Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980. New York: Oxford UP, 2005. Print.

How to Fix Your Family was created in Adobe Premiere Pro from footage of the show Maury, a Fallsview Casino commercial, and a Cash Money commercial.

The intention behind Maury is to bring parents and children together in an attempt to reconcile their conflicts often through the results of DNA tests; in this particular case, the father has not been with his daughter for 31 years and wants to be a paternal figure to her for the remainder of her life. After she asks what his definition of a father is, Fallsview Casino cuts in as an interruption of his thoughts. This is done by overlaying the ad footage over a time-stretched clip of the father. The Cash Money commercial enters as a way to advertise that the way to remedy this problem is not to spend an extensive amount of time together as a family, but to borrow money as a quick fix, by use of the ad voice-over with the repeated clip of the audience clapping and cheering, ending the video with the Cash Money jingle and contact information.

The meaning is altered from a family moment meant to be poignant and forgiving to a dark depiction of falling to the capitalist trap of gambling, greed, and addiction as a way of coping with domestic issues.

Constructed Narrative

Shonibare, Yinka. FAKE DEATH PICTURE (THE DEATH OF LEONARDO DA VINCI IN THE ARMS OF FRANCIS I - FRANCOIS-GUILLAUME MÉNAGEOT) 2011. Digital image. Yinka Shonibare, MBE (RA). N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. <http://www.yinkashonibarembe.com/artwork/photography/?image_id=121>.

A constructed narrative is a creation intended to tell a story through its tableau-like composition and the use of narrative elements such as allegorical/allusional references and a visual representation of a subject's or subjects' characterization. From certain pieces of Yinka Shonibare's work, the narrative is told through a familiar piece of work depicting a famous person but with the insertion of Shonibare's visage to recreate the narrative and add a different perspective to the reactions of the painting's subjects to the death.

Hyper-real

Monroy, Bert. Times Square. Digital image. Times Square. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. <http://www.bertmonroy.com/timessquare/timessquare.html>.

A level of extreme realism demonstrated in a painting or photograph.

Pictorial Space

Broughton, Mark. Till The Morning Sun. Digital image. Hyperfocal Distance and Photography. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. <http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/digital-slr-cameras-hyperfocal-distance-focus/>.

The depth and space that recedes to the distance inside a two-dimensional image.

Symbolism

Santora, Ade. Blind with Anger. Digital image. The Photo Argus. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. <Walker, Richard T. Us through This. Digital image. E-flux. N.p., 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. .>.

The usage of symbols to create references and representations of ideas and qualities.

Subjectivity

Walker, Richard T. Us through This. Digital image. E-flux. N.p., 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. <http://www.e-flux.com/announcements/31560/i-chronicle-narrative-history-and-subjectivity/>.

The effectiveness of how an interpretation can be different depending on the individual.