Surrey Art Gallery’s multisensory video installation all roses sleep (inviolate light) by artists Alana Bartol and Bryce Krynski is on view now until December 3. An online talk with Bartol, Krynski, and local artist-educator Lori Weidenhammer takes place on October 19 from 7 pm to 8:30 pm.
all roses sleep (inviolate light) follows the perspective of a solitary bee on a journey through the Alberta prairies in search of a wild rose. Visitors are invited to step into the world of a bee to experience the land through sound, vision, and smell.
Shot with an ultraviolet-converted digital camera, the viewer can see through a bee’s vision, which consists of ultraviolet light invisible to the human eye. As the bee travels from farmland to oil field, the viewer is immersed in the journey through scents that correspond to each landscape on the accompanying scratch-and-sniff card. While smell expands upon the sensory experience, the video’s first-person narrative evokes empathy by relating how the bee perceives and responds to its surroundings.
Calgary-based artist Bartol comes from a long line of water witches. Her site-responsive work explores divination as a way of understanding places, species, and bodies. In 2019 and 2021, Bartol was long-listed for Canada’s Sobey Art Award.
Winnipeg-born, Calgary-based artist Krynski produces work that makes use of photography, video, images (new, archival, and found), digital manipulation, historical food narratives, and found objects. He creates with a desire to see in new ways, establishing unique stories out of this process. Krynski’s work is part of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and Bow Valley College collections.
The online talk begins with a screening of all roses sleep (inviolate light). Bartol and Krynski will share their research and filming process, and Weidenhammer, who’s a member of the Native Bee Society of British Columbia, will educate on Surrey’s native bee species and the crucial role they play in maintaining a healthy environment.
all roses sleep (inviolate light) is supported with funding from Alberta Foundation for the Arts and Alberta University of the Arts. Guests can register for the online talk by emailing artgallery@surrey.ca.
Post sponsored by Surrey Art Gallery.