|
Tyler Hodgins, Please Try Again (in
progress), 2008, used scratch tickets, collection of the artist.
Put your old crosswords
to good use!
Before this exhibition opens,
the artist needs more used Crossword Scratch Lottery Tickets. Please bring
in your used tickets throughout Jan/Feb/Mar/April.
Drop them off at the gallery’s
front desk or have them with you when you come to visit the show! |
Tyler Hodgins: Please Try Again
April 25 to June 21, 2009
If someone said "please
try again" would you consider it a gentle let down or an invitation
for compulsive behaviour? Victoria-based artist Tyler Hodgins will have
you exercise these thoughts and more this spring with his exhibition, Please
Try Again. Using discarded instant crossword puzzle lottery tickets,
Hodgins recreates a life-size array of lines, letters and words to fill
one gallery wall. The resulting display evokes a sense of conviction for
the positive and negative outcomes of lottery playing, not to mention
themes of habit and chance.
In considering the self
indulgence of lottery players, Hodgins says, "My compulsion to order
and build things in the belief that these acts become meaningful as a
result of repetition was countered by the bet-hedging of compulsive
lottery players. As well, the idea of chance generated the sometimes
inspired, often maddeningly pointless, word scramble of the grid of
discarded tickets." As a result of the grid, visitors will have the
opportunity to observe the mesmerizing and chaotic graphic lines that
simulate an optical illusion. The inherent irony is that the only illusion
is the constant possibility of winning.
Known for his accomplishments
in the public art realm, Tyler Hodgins makes an easy transition from
sculptural installation to clever conceptual pieces. Since graduating in
1990 from The Victoria College of Art diploma program, Hodgins has been an
Honorary Associate of the college since 1993. Hodgins’ work is primarily
sculptural, but includes video, photography, installation works and public
art, with works of public art in Nanaimo, Greater Victoria, and
surrounding areas. This is Hodgins’ first exhibition at the Kelowna Art
Gallery, although he has exhibited in Victoria, Vancouver, and Calgary. He
has work in public and private collections in Canada and the United
States. |
