The Arts Council of New Westminster presents:
“Foreign Gaze: Bollywood Eyes”
by Gurpreet Shergill
October 5 – 30, 2016
Wednesday 1 – 8pm, Thursday – Sunday 1 – 5pm
Opening Reception: Wednesday, October 5, 6 – 8pm
*ARTIST WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE ON WEEKENDS*
ARTIST STATEMENT:
Within my practice I find it important for the viewer to be aware of themselves and the space they are situated within. Viewing the work at hand and to walk away with some sort of experience, if it’s how they relate to the topic and or materials that are currently being presented to them. In this series I was influenced with images that have stuck with me since childhood from television and film. Each work was created using a limited pallet of only four colours and all within one day. I tried to get a sense of haste of a passing thought of the things that I only think of when I think of these images. The eyes can say so much with just the expression or in this case just a part of that expression. Even with a fragment we can still stir some kind of emotional response. There are a lot of things that I can explain and talk about, but I strongly feel it is important for the viewer to discover their own connection to the work and to what internal conversation each individual work may have with each other.
BIOGRAPHY:
A little bit about myself, I was born and grew up in Surrey BC and been living in Queensborough, New Westminster BC for the past eight years. All throughout my life I have been surrounded by art and making, from my mother sewing to my sister’s drawing. During my teen years, I used art as a way of coping and escaping what was bugging me and have always felt a sense of not belonging. For twenty years my art practice has been something that I held to myself and I rarely shared it with anyone, due to my own insecurity. In 2011 I heard about a local group of artists, Artist in the Boro, and decided to give it a shot to meet other artists in the area. It was definitely refreshing to see what others were doing within their own practice and we has a chance to share our works and give each other feedback, I felt a bit reluctant to show my work, due to the fact that I had no “professional training.” The feedback I got was great and it really gave me the confidence to further push myself in my practice. I decided to give Emily Carr a chance since my sister went and I knew a few people that were going there and I got in. I am currently still at Emily Carr. I’ve learned so much and still excited to learn more and push myself in my own personal practice.
