Local art enthusiasts will be interested to know that a new exhibit from artist Lindsay Arnold of North Portal is now on display at the Estevan Art Gallery & Museum (EAGM). A reception was held for the new exhibit entitled Rooted at the EAGM on Friday evening.
Arnold's new work has been described to "explore society's struggles with identity, fear and perceived expectations of self."
Rooted is a set of artist books and drawings featuring women from Victorian advertisements, and Arnold says she wanted to take the women out of context and portray them doing or feeling what she thought their inner dialogue might be saying.
"Everybody has that inner world that they don't show to everybody else, but it's always there, so I tried to bring that forward, and that's what this work is about," she said.
The Victorian women in the drawings came from magazines and newspapers that Arnold and her husband found in an old house outside of North Portal. She says they were in a barn at the back where they came upon a large mound of old magazines and newspapers, ranging from 1890 to 1910.
Those familiar with what Arnold was doing about five or six years ago will see a big change in her new work, and she says they may be a little surprised. She has already received comments from people who have noticed the change, and she thinks they've found there is a lot more humour in the work, as well as a lot more meaning.
"The work I did before were drawings of weeds and plant life or organic life - nice things that people would like to hang in their living room. As I've matured as a person and have more confidence as an artist, I'm more willing to tackle some things that mean a lot to me and that maybe deal with things that aren't so pretty," said Arnold.
The exhibit at the EAGM is surrounded with wooden furniture, because Arnold says she wanted to build something where people could feel like they are in a living room setting as opposed to a gallery. Most of the wooden structures are her family's pieces, and she says each piece has a story behind it.
The exhibit is on display until January 14.
