Julie Cosgrove melds two seemingly disparate parts of her life – her employment as a wilderness canoe and kayak guide and her work as an artist – in her solo exhibition Nowhere is a place. About this relationship, Cosgrove says “I incorporate the data of coordinates from expedition and navigational equipment, such as the GPS or SPOT tracker into my artworks, merging the paradigm of my experience of nature within my painting process.” The result is a series of physically imposing abstract paintings that examine and incorporate the concepts of mapping as it most often occurs today, with the aid of new navigational technologies. A meaningful extension to her paintings is the interactive piece entitled Mapping People, where cameras detect and map visitors to the gallery and the data is subsequently collected and included in the exhibition.
“Finding A Way,” exhibition catalogue essay for Nowhere is a place.
Nowhere is a place, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, June 20 – September 14, 2014.
Image credits: “Hidden Reflections”, 2014 (left), “One Sided Story”, 2014 (centre), “Draw Near”, 2013 (right), and acrylic on canvas, 59″ x 78.75″. Images courtesy of the Artist.