ASYLUM, a new SPAO Centre Gallery exhibition, opens today as part of SPAO’s 20th anniversary.
The exhibition is a two-person photographic show, featuring artists Neeko Paluzzi and Olivia Johnston. The duo recently announced they are now part of SPAO’s educational leadership team, and their work in this exhibition reflects their position.
“Neeko was one of my first students when I began teaching at SPAO almost ten years ago and we have built a great friendship over the years,” writes Johnston in a press release. “He’s a brilliant artist and I’m honoured to collaborate on this exhibition with him.”
Neeko Paluzzi and Olivia Johnston. Photo provided.
ASYLUM highlights the photography industry, the function of the image within society, and childhood while drawing upon the duo’s 20+ years of teaching.
“We’ve used our shared medium of installation to explore the notion of asylum as safe space, without ignoring the darker undertones of its histories in mental illness,” writes Johnston.
Works in the show feature objects and materials accumulated during the creation of artworks, and emphasize the emotional weight these objects hold as a physical representation of how much work goes into each image. Such materials include props, prototypes, and more, all staged in a cardboard box.
There is no substitute for the real thing by Olivia Johnston and Neeko Paluzzi. Pigment ink on vinyl adhesive. Photo from SPAO website.
According to SPAO’s website: “While the cardboard installation pays reference to obsolescence, protection and isolation, it also raises larger questions about trauma and mental illness. Where do we turn when our minds feel fragile? Where do we put all of the clutter? How do we construct spaces—physical or emotional—that allow us to process, to create, and to survive?”
“The works on display honour SPAO as a space of solace and creativity, demonstrating how such sanctuaries enable transformation. The layers of this exhibition—both material and emotional—invite viewers to reflect on the delicate balance between containment and release, and the strength required to carry the weight of both.”
There will be a vernissage to welcome the new exhibit on Jan. 10 from 5–7pm.
About SPAO: The SPAO Centre is home to the SPAO Centre Gallery, the Ottawa region’s only independent and critical gallery space dedicated to photographic and video art. It is located at 77 Pamilla St. There is no admission fee and the gallery is wheelchair accessible.
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