The last official Vancouver Creatives 2 laureate portrait is exceptionally published today on a Thursday due a ridiculously long internet outage yesterday in East Vancouver (leading in return to a most rewarding "analogue day" spent printing in the darkroom ;) Delayed but not lost (in fitting with this last portrait's location), we are excited to present you Mike Seymour, a multitalented mind whose main focus in Vancouver is to "install art" into different contexts of encountering and reading to experience new meaning. The concept of installation has been very pregnant in the art world since the 1960s, opening the door to many now-contemporary scales, natures and formats of exhibition challenging viewers to further question and interpret their perception and understanding of art itself. The art of installation often makes the audience the final and crucial participatory component of its scheme, which might be the reason why we ended up photographing Mike at Iona Beach, a uniquely layered environment crisscrossing the city's airport with a spectacular mile-deep vantage point on the Strait of Georgia, along with an equestrian centre and the strangest sewer architecture networking a land of ecotone enchantment. A good spot to plant such an art installationist as Mike Seymour indeed.
Mike Seymour studied architecture in Winnipeg and following a project trajectory, migrated towards the ocean and found himself in Vancouver. He currently works with Omer Arbel and Bocci as a designer of objects and interventions, ranging from small fixtures to international installations. Recent projects include a massive installation at the V&A museum in London with Omer Arbel and a collaboration with Atelier Anonymous on a public art installation in Vancouver. Mike Seymour uses contingency and found narratives as a means to explore sites and landscapes. His practice spans various scales and multiple contexts; some of which include architecture, film, design and photography. He most recently had the honour of being invited to present his most recent work to the Faculty of Architecture at University of Manitoba and was previously published in Border Crossings Magazine's "Art Pages" and "Border Views".
VANCOUVER CREATIVES 2 EXHIBITION OPENING: THURSDAY, JUNE 4TH
We are now finishing the hand-printing of the Vancouver Creatives 2 historical portraits in our darkroom and coordinating its framing with our partner Opus Supplies. It is all coming together fast as we sprint in now just two weeks to the Thursday, June 4th exhibition opening night! Make sure to mark your calendar on June 4th and come admire Mike's and 19 other genuine calotype portraits at Make Gallery (257 E. 7th Ave) from 6:00 PM starting with a short series of talks and Q&A with the laureates and followed by a reception with a themed bar and live musical sets by Vancouver-bred electronic duo Combine The Victorious!
If you haven't done so yet, we also invite you to read the recent interview MAKE did of us shining more light on the inner works of the Vancouver Creatives project at:
http://makeisawesome.com/vancouver-creatives-2/
As always, we also wish to thank our incredible sponsors this year without whom this original celebration of talent wouldn't be possible: big thanks to media sponsors Vancouver Is Awesome, Montecristo Magazine,Vitamin Daily and When They Find Us for their support in advertising the Vancouver Creatives Two call and exhibition; to marketing sponsor Jukebox for printing our exhibition flyers and posters; to graphic designer Kelly Turner from Fall for Local for her stunning call and exhibition poster & postcard designs; to Combine The Victorious for performing extracts from their 2nd Album release "It's Still On"; and last but not least huge thanks to Make, our wonderful exhibition partner and space home of all Vancouver Creatives shows!
