Auricals . current work

Auricals was shown at the Victoria Arts Council in 2023 and will be exhibited at Harcourt House in Edmonton from Sept 20th to Oct 5th, 2024

In recent years the artist has been losing their hearing due to otosclerosis. As a response to this hearing loss, Auricals (artist’s word) is about the importance of communication and the difference between hearing and listening. 

Auricals is a collection of tools needed to slow down and change our listening, allowing us to absorb more of what is important to hear. As unmanageable amounts of information have been made available through digital devices, some “hearing” frequencies have been lost. The noise is too loud for the signal to get through.  It is either too much to take in so that what is hardest to hear is consciously or unconsciously ignored, or the empathic listening is lost due to information overload, causing a communal deafness. 

The aurical sculptures are made up of found objects and 3-D printed elements. The shapes of the objects collected are inspired by the museum catalogs of 19C analog hearing aids. Each assemblage is a different communication tool. The aurical may be used for critical listening, as a hearing aid, as an information filter, or as a sound amplifier. It is up to the viewer to ‘guess’ what each tool might be used for, inviting the audience to collaborate, creating an aspect of imaginative playfulness and curiosity.

An accompanying limited edition artistbook has been published by FLASK. This hand-printed book, with 3D printed cover and box, contains hybrid prints using solarplate etching, blind embossing, pronto lithography, collography and spray painted stencilling. Images from #lostfoundsound here.

The FLASK project is generously funded by BC Arts Council’s IMPACT Grant, as well as the Canada Council for the Arts / Arts Across Canada program.

Funding for Auricals came from the Victoria Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts / Concept to Realization grant.

An exhibition catalogue has been published. Designed by Leah McInnis. Poetry by Rhonda Ganz, essays by Kegan McFadden and Regan Rasmussen. Photos in catalogue by Alison Bigg and Andrew Niemann

To read the essays and poems click on the button below.