Gordon Hicks, Sally McKay and Rebecca Diederichs, details, Neutrinos They Are Very Small, 2005. Collection of the artists. Credit: the artists
Exhibitions
Neutrinos They Are Very Small
Contemporary Feature Gallery
8 July - 10 December 2006
The artists in Neutrinos They Are Very Small - Rebecca Diederichs, Gordon Hicks and Sally McKay - responded to the underground laboratory of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory as a site of observation, experimentation, and, above all, passionate curiosity about the inner workings of the cosmos. Taking its title from "Cosmic Gall," a poem by John Updike, the exhibition offered an encounter between advanced physics and the artistic imagination through speculative representations of sub-atomic particles and the processes of scientific inquiry. Probing affinities between the ways in which science and art strive to make sense of the world, the works in this exhibition were poetic renderings, musings, and comically low-tech, sci-fi style renditions of the subatomic shenanigans of matter and energy.
The opening reception for Neutrinos They Are Very Small was held on Friday 7 July, 5 - 7:00 pm. Other special events were planned for the fall. On Sunday 15 October, a lecture/performance by Sally McKay, "The Trouble with Oscillation," took place in the gallery at 1:30 pm, followed by "Full on Gall," a drop-in, participatory workshop/lab on the fusion of advanced physics and aesthetic production, hosted by all three artists in the Art Centre Atrium, 2:30 - 5:00 pm.
This project and the accompanying catalogue were co-developed with the Art Gallery of Sudbury. Neutrinos They Are Very Small would not have been possible without the generous cooperation of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, in particular Dr. Doug Hallman. The 48-page illustrated publication, designed by the award-winning Lisa Kiss, contains essays by exhibition curator Corinna Ghaznavi and art historian Allison Morehead, with an introduction by Jan Allen. The publication (available at the Gallery Shop or through ABC Art Books Canada) includes a DVD with video excerpts and an interactive component documenting the experimental artistic collaboration Black Box.
Associated web sites:
www.sallymckay.ca/oscillation
www.gordonhicks.com/blackbox
Jan Allen
This project was supported by the George Taylor Richardson Memorial Fund.