Talk & Tour: Lively Objects with Germaine Koh

Date: Thursday, September 3, 2015
Time: 7:00pm
Admission: General $14 | Seniors & Students $11 | Youth $8 | Family $38 | MOV Members FREE

Koh’s talk will provide insight into the unique curatorial vision for exhibition, and invite us to explore how and why we are drawn to the experience of things that seem to come to life. Koh will discuss the mechanics and conceptual framework of her Topographic Table, as well as delve into the how and why of her artistic practice, which is concerned with the significance of everyday actions, familiar objects and common places.

Topographic Table recreates the contours of the mountains of North of Vancouver. Sensors and internet-connected electronics embedded in its frame cause the table to tremble in response to nearby vibrations and news about earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest. This piece of furniture models the geology and psychic condition of living near the Cascadia fault line.

The artworks in Lively Objects take a variety of forms – gloves, tables, figurines, machines and projected images. These enchanted artworks disrupt traditional museum categories and presentation techniques. They start surprising conversations with neighbouring objects and invite visitors to reconsider the museum experience.

Lively Objects is curated by Caroline Seck Langill and Lizzie Muller. It is part of The Living Effect, a SSHRC-funded project that investigates notions of “aliveness” in media arts objects. It features works created by faculty and alumni of OCAD University and Emily Carr University of Art and Design, including: Wendy Cobrun, Steve Daniels, Judith Doyle (with Ian Murray), Kate Hartman, Garnet Hertz, Simone Jones & Lance Winn, Germaine Koh, and Norman White.

Germaine Koh is a Canadian visual artist based in Vancouver. Koh’s artwork ranges from performances to interactive machines to social experiments. Her pieces often deal with the ways we move through the world and interact with other people. Her exhibition history includes the BALTIC Centre (Newcastle), Bloomberg SPACE (London), Artspace (Sydney), The British Museum (London), Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), and the Liverpool, Sydney and Montréal biennials. Koh was a recipient of the 2010 VIVA Award, and a finalist for the 2004 Sobey Art Award.

Lively Objects is an associated exhibition of ISEA 2015.