MARGARET RODGERS

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RENEWAL

Out of Time

(site/cite/cité/city) SPECIFIC
“The Shwa”

This body of work is an extension of my ongoing interest in Oshawa heritage. Based on archival photographs (Ontario Archives, Bouckley Collection), the series consists of mixed media works on canvas. The content deals with incidental images found in early photographs, often grainy or blurry but suggestive of daily life at the time. The act of featuring these images is a subversion of the original intent of the photographer, calling up the manner in which we are all background strangers incidentally captured in passing, and as a picture-taking culture we also participate in capturing background as well as foreground ourselves.

Money, etc

Since 2009 I have been working on a series of paintings and photo transfers on recycled Styrofoam food trays.  The body of work is a response to  the recent corporate bailouts and a general commentary on the widening gap between rich and poor. 

The materials speak to issues of commoditization and an Arte Povera sensibility, and in this context a continuation of earlier work using silt cloth panels retrieved from demolition sites. 

 Each piece is made from photo transfer and acrylic paint on a recycled food tray, with some use of metal leaf. Approximate sizes vary from 10 x 15 cm to 25 x 30 cm.

Works will be on view in “THE VAULT” at BOLA (20 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa Ontario)  during May 2011. BOLA is housed in an early 20C building whose earlier use included a bank and a jewellers. 

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