Using the shopping cart and the helium balloon as found objects, Discotheque, by Avery Ullyot-Comrie examines the glamorization of consumer culture. The shopping cart is a recognizable form that serves the single purpose of carrying goods. This function has been disrupted through the severing of the cart into two main halves, rendering it motionless and unable to fulfill its intended purpose. Attached to each half is a helium balloon that mimics the form of a disco ball; an object typically known to hang from the ceiling and cast an eye-catching hemisphere of light. The helium disco ball balloon supports the severed cart, referencing the glorification of unsustainable and destructive realities within consumer environments. Glamorization is used as a tool to distract from the unmendable issues that arise from consumption on a mass scale. The balloons appear to uplift the cart, while also being held down by its weight, creating tension between the two objects.
Join us on Saturday, June 25th, from 3-5pm for a closing reception and a chance to meet the artist. Light snacks and refreshments will be available.
Avery Ullyot-Comrie recently finished her Bachelor of Fine Art degree at UBC Okanagan in the spring of 2022 and is currently living and working in the Okanagan area. Working primarily in sculpture, Avery uses found objects within the context of the gallery space to question the pre-existing relationships between object and viewer.
Her work occurs in a ‘material first’ process where objects are sourced and then continually experimented with over time, often in large quantities. The found objects are commonly prefabricated plastic items or brightly coloured geometric forms that Avery finds while engaging with the consumer environment. These objects are chosen initially from aesthetic attraction and gain conceptual direction in the creative process over time. Avery is influenced by her daily experiences with pre-fabricated objects in consumer environments that make her question the conceptual nature of consumer goods. This is one of Avery’s first exhibitions as an emerging artist.
Discotheque by Avery Ullyot-Comrie in the Members’ Gallery, 2022.