Tina Martel

tenuous was an ongoing installation during which I created a paper cast of a full size pick up truck. Everything from the production of the handmade paper, the application of the sheets, to the final removal was completed during seventeen days in July 2008. 

I chose to use the truck as an icon for the culture and environment of Grande Prairie and Alberta in general. The final paper cast also functioned as a visual metaphor for the current fragility of our environment. 

On the completion of the exhibition I took the paper truck onto a local road. The truck, without its supports, quickly collapsed. Caught by the wind it danced, it skittered, sometimes it flew. It broke apart during the course of the day, torn by the wind and abraded by the roughness of the land. The form became obscure and unrecognizable; all torn edges and fragments littering the ground.

Out of several hours of footage this “motion painting” was created. The video is layered, transparent and accentuates the ghostly and ephemeral nature of the paper. 

During the making of tenuous the auto industry rumbles of trouble became more public with the closing of plants and layoffs. During the presentation of tenuous too, the dissolution continues and the video also becomes a metaphor for the industry itself.  

The original title tenuous, according to the Mac dictionary 2007 means “thin and fine and so easily broken”. We remain fragile, ephemeral and “tenuous” in our existence.

http://aggp.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/tenuous-catalogue-small.pdf

evolve, created during The International Works Festival in Edmonton, June 21 – July 7, 2010 allowed me the opportunity to continue both exploration and dialogue initiated during the tenuous exhibition. In two weeks, with the assistance of my team, I produced hand made paper casts of five Smart cars. This project presented the idea that although we remain ‘thin, fine and so easily broken’, visually illustrated by the use of paper as a casting material, we are taking steps to ‘reduce, reuse and recycle.’ Directions of a positive nature are shown in the decreased size of vehicles, improved mileage, and the use of recycled materials in manufacturing. That consumers are purchasing these new vehicles is another encouraging sign. I feel that evolve created a response to the iconic truck by creating another piece two years later with the Smart Car as a more optimistic icon for a changing culture and environment.

The installation and creation of evolve happened in the highly public space of Sir Winston Churchill Square. It again provided the opportunity to actually speak to the artist and ask: What are you doing? Why are you doing it? What does it mean to you? What does it mean to me? The public execution of this piece coincided with The Works mandate of public accessibility, education and art appreciation ‘developed and encouraged in a Festival format’ 

five Smart cars cast in hand made paper

The International Works Art and Design Festival

2010

five Smart cars cast in hand made paper

The International Works Art and Design Festival 

2010

five Smart cars cast in hand made paper

The International Works Art and Design Festival 

2010

five Smart cars cast in hand made paper

The International Works Art and Design Festival 

2010

evolve was created specifically for The Works festival. At its conclusion I devoted several days to the photographing of the paper cars and their pieces in various locations around Edmonton. This documentation was vital as it is the only existing record, since the paper casts have been recycled.

The photographs were printed digitally in a large format, 4 feet x 6 feet to represent the actual scale of the original work. The prints are on fabric used specifically to mimic the properties of the hand cast paper cars. They are not mounted on a rigid substrate. One of the more appealing features of the vehicles was the fragility of the medium. My intention was to duplicate this with a material that flutters with the slightest draft or movement within the exhibition space. The large scale also helps to reproduce the immersive experience of being surrounded by the vehicles.

digital photo on fabric

48w x 72h inches

2011

digital photograph on fabric

48w x 72h inches

2011

digital photograph on fabric

48w x 72h inches

2011

digital photograph on fabric

48w x 72h inches

2011

digital photograph on fabric

48w x 72h inches

2011

digital photography on fabric

48w x 72h inches

2011

48w x 72h inches

digital photograph on fabric

2011

digital photograph on fabric

48w x 72h inches

2011

digital photography on fabric

48w x 72h inches

2011