The Future is Floating 4
STRUCTURES OF POWER
GEOFFREY CARR IN CONVERSATION WITH CEDRIC, NATHAN AND JIM BOMFORD
Bomford Studio, 527 Great Northern Way, GNW campus, Vancouver, BC
Thursday September 13, 2012, 6 p.m.
As a lead up to the launch of the Bomford’s Deadhead (working title) , a floating sculpture co-produced by Other Sights and Presentation House Gallery, Other Sights’ Communication Office presents the second in a series of conversations about building structures, imaginary, physical or social, at the artists’ GNW studio.
In the research phase of this project the Bomfords initiated a discussion with Geoffrey Carr about his insight into the relationship between the built environment and colonial power on the west coast. For this event, Carr will present some of his research and insight into the authority implicit in the design and construction of residential schools. A discussion between Carr and the Bomfords will follow.
In collaboration with his brother Nathan Bomford, father Jim Bomford, and with the assistance of Mark Dudiak, and many others, Cedric Bomford has been constructing a structure intended to be mounted on a barge that will be moored at various locations along our region’s waterways. After an extensive research and concept development phase, the artwork is being fabricated in a purpose-built studio constructed of shipping containers and industrial tenting.
Please join us at the Bomford studio to see the project at this point in its evolution and participate in an informal conversation about the research informing the work. There will be a BBQ to follow.
Geoffrey Carr is an architectural historian and a member of the faculty in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of the Fraser Valley. He holds a PhD in Art History from the University of British Columbia. His research examines the largely overlooked architectural history of the Indian Residential School system in Canada, as well as the problems pertaining to the preservation and commemoration of these contentious places. In addition, he is also interested in issues related to memorialization, heritage preservation, state apology, and discourses of social reconciliation.
Cedric Bomford is a Vancouver based artist whose practice is gaining international recognition. He recently participated in a Creative Residency at The Banff Centre for the Arts and the Canada Council for the Arts residency program in Berlin, Germany. He received an MFA from the Malmö Art Academy, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden in 2007, and a BFA with a major in Photography from the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in 2003. He has exhibited internationally, including solo shows in Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Australia, and group shows in Germany, Sweden, Iran, Australia, Taiwan, and Canada. Several of the Canadian installation projects have been realized in collaboration with his brother Nathan Bomford including the architectural environment that was part of the Vancouver Art Gallery exhibition How Soon is Now and Bamberton: The Contested Landscape at Open Space in Victoria.
Nathan Bomford is a visual artist mainly working in photography and installation. He is currently based in Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia. Nathan received an MFA from the University of Victoria in 2006, and a BFA with a major in photography from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 2003. He has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Germany and across Canada. Much of his recent work has been completed in collaboration with his brother Cedric Bomford and his father Jim Bomford.
Born in Duncan BC, Jim Bomford received his Bachelor of Applied Science (Civil Engineering) from UBC in 1971 and practiced as a civil, structural and environmental engineer in British Columbia until his retirement from Professional Engineering in 2010. He has contributed his engineering expertise on a number of large-scale sculptural installations as part of the Bomford collaborative team.
About The Communications Office:
Late last year, Other Sights formed a Communication Office, and we have been talking and thinking about how The Future is Floating in so many ways. Whether it’s melting ice caps, waves of social unrest, listing economies or just a general sinking feeling, the future is uncertain, and fluidly so. In waving or drowning, we propose a series of events that focus our attentions, invite new ideas and put us in touch, whether face to face or ear to ear.
