Taryn's Studio, image courtesy of the artist.
Taryn Kneteman
What does it mean to you to be an artist working in Edmonton?
Being an artist working in Edmonton means observing seasonal change. Some of my favourite moments of the year are watching the lily pad shaped ice flow down the river in November, listening to the dripping of melting and water rushing through storm sewers and outfall pipes in spring, and documenting the billowing and respiration of construction tarps and building wrap (this happens almost all year round!). Especially for the past five years, I’ve carried my camera with me to record these fugitive moments. This personal library of video and photographs is part of my work - directly by forming parts of videos and works on paper, and indirectly by catalyzing ideas and images in my imagination. It reminds me that there are moments of wonder possible in the familiar repetitions of living. My current video series is about the unexpected and surreal appearing in everyday rituals.
What is the Edmonton art scene to you?
The Edmonton art scene is a community of creative and critically engaged artists. Many artists I know work on project-based exhibitions rather than works made for private collecting. Public funding for artists allows projects to be motivated by curiosity rather than consumer taste. Artwork with vitality that speaks about what it means to live here, now, is being made by artists in many disciplines. Many artists are at once part of artist-run centres, galleries, museums, academic institutions, and diy initiatives. These fluid boundaries create an atmosphere of conversation and collaboration.
Working in Edmonton means being close to my family – my grandparents’ quiet root cellar and gift of freshly picked peas, and my encouraging network of sisters are examples of the kinship that helped create the two videos I’m sharing in this show.
Be sure to catch Taryn Kneteman in The Scene at your AGA in 2021 (stay tuned for our re-opening announcement).
'Egg yolk brain' and 'Bath bomb heart'
Born and raised in Edmonton, Kneteman’s interdisciplinary practice operates at the intersection of video, printmaking and sculpture. Drawing on the visual language of popular online “tutorial” and “personal routine” videos, Kneteman’s short films render domestic tasks—cooking an egg or drawing a bath—surreal. By casting familiar objects into bodily form, Kneteman creates uncanny replicas. As they melt and dissolve, the objects’ transformations are sensorially satisfying to watch while at the same time suggest something more sinister.
The artist would like to acknowledge the support of the Edmonton Arts Council in the making of this work.
