Where I’m At Now: A Conversation in Art
Where I’m At Now: A Conversation in Art is a collection of collaborative 'postcards’ that reflect the experience of place – physical and psychic – by artists Yael Brotman, Karen Curry, Liz Parkinson, Snaige Sileika and MJ Steenberg, colloquially called The Gibson Girls.
At our 2018 retreat Liz Parkinson suggested a project to help us stay connected during the rest of the year. Each artist was to create five partial artworks on 4” x 6” pieces of paper based on their current studio inquiry. Four of these 'postcard' images were to be mailed to each of the others in the group. Each artist was then to add their own imagery before sending the postcard to another member of the group. More than 600 postcards have now travelled to Gabriola Island, British Columbia; Pouch Cove, Newfoundland; Toronto and Port Hope, Ontario; Puerto Escondido, Mexico; and Vilnius, Lithuania; with input by each of the Gibson Girls.
The group experienced a change in the collective narrative of the postcards throughout the pandemic as their lives were transformed by the reality of changed social conditions and the emotions and themes born out of isolation. The Gibson Girls' hope these small artistic gestures towards community and understanding offer to others a glimpse into the connection shared by the group.
Where I’m At Now was first exhibited at 175 postcards in the George Gilmour Gallery at Open Studio, Toronto, in 2019. The Gibson Girls’ intention was that this would lead to a series of unique & expanding exhibitions. The 2020 exhibition slated for the Marija and Jurgis Slapelis Art Museum in Vilnius, Lithuania was postponed to May 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This exhibition included 500 postcards as well as individual installations by each of the artists. Selections from the project were also included in mail-art projects in Toronto and Bulgaria during the pandemic.
Where I’m At Now: A Conversation in Art will be shown at The Gabriola Arts and Heritage Centre June 9-11, 2023.