Audie Murray’s work first came to my attention in the form of a circulated Instagram image of a pair of sport socks with a beaded sole, Pair of Socks (2017). I immediately was drawn to thinking about these works, what does it mean to walk on these beads, to feel them on the feet- their potential to break-and how do they relate to historic works of moccasins with beaded soles? I was invested in the artist’s practice that I view as a mix of humour, skills-based material process and an intuitive sense. In another recent work, T.P. (2018) a roll of toilet paper is beaded with a dusty rose scalloped design that covers the entire surface of the tissue (a work that has become predictive of the global pandemic in 2020 and the rush on bulk toilet paper purchases!). A visceral materiality that lives in a bodily conceptual aesthetic is one of the ways I started to see Audie Murray’s work. This materiality is, at times, also concerned with a good laugh, an important healing belly laugh along with memories of laughter and who we share it with. In this exhibition, As Old as The Hills, these themes continue in the body of work on exhibition at Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art in Kelowna, BC (July 31- Sept. 12, 2020).
Read More