Artist Jessie McNeil’s approach to collage art has earned her an upcoming solo exhibit at Deer Lake Gallery.
McNeil’s exhibition, Urban Subjects, aims to capture everyday snapshots of urban life, which are reinterpreted through the process of cutting, pasting, smudging and assembling paper. The Burnaby Arts Council is presenting the showcase.
“In Urban Subjects, Jessie McNeil uses assemblage to slow down and capture the moment even more poignantly than photography can,” says the council’s write-up for the event.
McNeil’s examines pedestrian life in cities such as Vancouver, Helsinki and Tartu, Estonia. She describes her figurative collage work as “dealing with place and memory with an emphasis on cultural history.”
“I don't know if my work captures a moment better or more poignantly than photography can - that's really up to someone else to decide,” she said. “For me, in terms of my process, I don't believe my study of the urban landscape ends with a photograph. I use my photos as sketches, or studies to base my collages off of.”
McNeil said her approach to collage differs from what is typically expected from the art form. Rather than using images to create the collage, she looks for coloured paper in magazines to build her own figures. In this way, McNeil’s work can be likened to painting.
“It's like I'm looking at a painter's palette with all the colours,” she said. “In the final pieces, there's usually no reference or recognizable feature of the original printed matter I cut up.”
McNeil’s favourite piece from the exhibit, Helsinki Youth, depicts a group of friends walking through the city square. The collage features a simple background, placing the focus on the figures. In explaining the piece, McNeil said she’s reminded of how she felt when she created it.
“Sometimes a piece reminds me of a podcast or a certain album I was listening to at the time of its creation, and I must have been listening to something inspiring, because this piece just makes me happy.”
Urban Subjects opens Saturday, June 11 and runs until July 2 at Deer Lake Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Ave.
