WESTERN FRONT – Visual Textures

Description:

Integrating language and visual art, Joan Wilkinson’s solo exhibition Visual Textures – Wishwrack explored the theme of functional adoration. An ambiguous domestic scene suggested both contained contentment and frustration. Five poems behind a ceramic plate in a dish rack were placed to signify the ordinary and practical use of text.

In a minimal domestic setting, a shadow created by what looks like a long and wide venetian wood blind is cast in the center of the wall. In front of the blinds, stands a small pole holding a circular piece of striped textile with an embroidered spiral at its center. Further to the right are two steel bar stool chairs. A tall steel table with a dish rack stands in between them.

In front of long and wide venetian wood blinds, stands a small pole holding a circular piece of striped textile with an embroidered spiral at its center. This item resembles the shape and height of a pedestal fan. Behind the blinds, the silhouette of a shell shaped backframe of a sofa can be seen.

Furniture and wall pieces adorn the space, simulating a domestic setting. There’s a table made from a bass drum, and a sofa is made with a cushioned back frame shaped like a seashell. On the wall hangs a piece that resembles a tapestry, but has a plastic-like sheen. Underneath the tapestry, there’s a small metal and glass long structure.

There’s a table and a sofa on a wooden floor. The table’s base is made from a bass drum, and its circular top is made of screw caps encrusted on a flat surface. The sofa is made of steel and cushion, with its cushioned backframe shaped like a sea shell.

A tall steel table with a dish rack is between two steel barstool chairs. The dish rack contains five paper sheets with poems behind a ceramic plate. On the right side of the wall, there’s a wall clock connected to a power outlet.

On a metal dish drying rack, there are five paper sheets with poems behind a ceramic plate. The dishrack is over a dishmat that has shell patterns created by indented lines on its surface.

There are five paper sheets with poems behind a ceramic plate on a metal dish drying rack. The center of the plate has an image of a long-haired male-looking figure with his mouth open. The dishrack is atop a dishmat on a small table.

Captions:

Joan Wilkinson: Visual Textures – Wishwrack, installation view, Oct 7 – 23, 1987.
Joan Wilkinson: Visual Textures – Wishwrack, installation view, Oct 7 – 23, 1987.
Joan Wilkinson: Visual Textures – Wishwrack, installation view, Oct 7 – 23, 1987.
Joan Wilkinson: Visual Textures – Wishwrack, installation view, Oct 7 – 23, 1987.
Joan Wilkinson: Visual Textures – Wishwrack, installation view, Oct 7 – 23, 1987.
Joan Wilkinson: Visual Textures – Wishwrack, installation view, Oct 7 – 23, 1987.
Joan Wilkinson: Visual Textures – Wishwrack, installation view, Oct 7 – 23, 1987.
Joan Wilkinson: Visual Textures – Wishwrack, installation view, Oct 7 – 23, 1987.
Joan Wilkinson: Visual Textures – Wishwrack, installation view, Oct 7 – 23, 1987.

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Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.

We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.