Feeding the Bite: 4F06 Honours Exhibition 2023

Introduction

LEANING IN

By Linda Carreiro
VISA 4F06 Instructor

    The VISA 4F06 class is an intensive course, moving a group of emerging artists towards professional practice by grounding their work in research-creation methodologies. The class is structured as a lab, an atelier and critical platform, where students make, think, make more and think more, guided by the instructor, faculty and guests throughout the year. During the fall semester, early ideas were supported through ample feedback and questioning, with necessary reflection and resolve. The winter term was focused on defining, producing and refining, with students moving at times with certainty, and other times less surely, towards a body of work that reflected their efforts and engagement. I enjoyed the many honest conversations both in and outside of class about the challenges and insecurities of being an artist, especially putting work into the public eye where art’s value is often questioned beyond the commercial.

    Feeding the Bite is the result of students chomping into their studio work—pun intended—to engage with the numerous trajectories presented for their ideas. The deeper the bite, the more satisfying the rewards. More specifically, and in reference to the title of the show, it is a term used in situations particularly related to mental health. To ‘feed the bite’ is to counter the instinct to pull away when bitten by another individual or a wild animal, lest more flesh be damaged; it contends one should instead lean into the mouth of the aggressor until they let go. This approach requires patience, contemplation and faith that such a confrontation will be rewarding, even though painful. In a multitude of ways, and through a range of media, these nine artists admirably tackle the bite full-on rather than pulling away from danger: some jesting and jabbing at their fears; others shifting sideways to avoid further injury; others confronting the source with a more acerbic edge, acknowledging the deep wounds.

    We are slowly emerging from an intensive period where shocks and losses from the pandemic have been further blistered by profound ecological, social and economic disruptions on a global scale. The resulting despair, disparity, polarization, new and on-going conflicts—all against a backdrop of searing greed—has certainly made a mark. Many of us are feeling tender from the withdrawal and isolation, where fear and uncertainty compounded any residual hurts. Yet, collectively, this group of artists from different lived experiences, perspectives and practices have instead leaned into their pain to explore anxieties and traumas, to witness and to produce work that both reveals and conceals the impacts of acute experiences. From exposing the effects of abuse or neglect to questioning societal expectations, confronting fears or characterising the fleetingness of a life, the conversations are thoughtfully presented in Marilyn I. Walker Gallery and Niagara Artists Centre. Even when the artworks explore care and protection, a sliver of exposed ‘skin’ leaves a vulnerable space to feel the bite again. Through the works by Elizabeth Peters, Emily Au, Emily MacDonald, Jasmine Monk, Marcel Grimard, Natalie Tawadroos, Olivia Dubé, Scarlett Rivet and Taylor Elliott, we are provided reassurance that leaning into vulnerability can be a way of healing.

For Catalogue: https://issuu.com/brockuniversity/docs/2023_visa_catalogue_/