OPENING RECEPTION | Friday 12 April, 7:00 p.m.
EXHIBITION | 12 April–24 May, 2019
PLATFORM centre is pleased to present the group exhibition Always seeing something, never seeing nothing, running from 12 April–24 May, 2019. An opening reception is scheduled for Friday 12 April at 7 PM. The event is free and open to the public.
The exhibition Always seeing something, never seeing nothing, looks at the varied practices of five emerging Winnipeg artists. This Main Gallery exhibition is comprised of photographic prints and sculptures by Chanelle Lajoie, Michael Mogatas, Michelle Panting, Reza Rezai and Graham Wiebe. These artists each approach their practices in unique ways to explore a wide range of current concerns and practices in contemporary photography. Place, politics, mass production and identity are just some of the themes portrayed in the work of these five artists.
BIOGRAPHIES
Chanelle Lajoie’s perspective stands on a foundation of reaching equality through both creative and direct action, advocating in solidarity with marginalized communities. As a queer Métis woman living on Treaty 1 Territory, community building is her medicine. She roots and intertwines her academic studies, professional life, creative passions and personal politics to build a voice that echoes the importance of dismantling hegemonic identities, making space for those who have been silenced.
Michael Mogatas is an artist often working between the realms of photography, screen printing, and photography. Recent exhibitions of his work include “Recent Works” at Flux Gallery and “Épuiser la batterie / Draining the Battery” at Le Studio in 2016. Michael was a co-director of C Space gallery, which operated from 2013 to 2015.
Michelle Panting is a lens-based artist living on Treaty 1 Lands in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her practice is rooted in the medium of photography, working in installation, etching, paint, and sculpture, exploring themes of gender, memory, and space. Michelle graduated from the University of Winnipeg in 2010 with bachelors in English and Education, and was a recipient of the Cartae Open School at aceartinc. She has exhibited her work in small-businesses and participated in gallery members’ shows at various artist-run centres in Winnipeg. She was the founder, writer, and photographer of Full Magazine, an online publication documenting art and culture in Manitoba.
Reza Rezaï is a Winnipeg born artist and writer of Persian descent. His work as a curator was the subject of a 2016 Vice Canada documentary. He recently completed his first collection of poetry titled “ishq” under acclaimed Franco-Manitoban author/poet Lise Gaboury-Diallo. He is currently working towards his first solo show of conceptual art titled “MEHMOON” to be shown at TRUCK Contemporary Arts (Calgary) in September 2019.
Graham Wiebe is photo-based artist from Winnipeg, Canada. He received his B.F.A. (Hons) Degree at the University of Manitoba. Employing the snapshot as material toward a visual memoir, Wiebe’s photographs are a record of impulse and engagement. These fragmentary and still documents weave together to highlight the intersection of the urban and suburban landscapes, creating an intimate portrait of youth culture rooted in time, place and personal experience. In 2015, Wiebe won the AIMIA AGO Scholarship Prize, exhibiting a selection of work at the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto) and has since exhibited in alternative spaces, galleries, and artist-run centers both nationally and internationally. Wiebe most recently completed the BAiR Emerging Visual and Digital Arts Residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (Banff, AB) and is preparing for a duo residency at Celine Bureau (Montreal, QC) with artist Daniel Fernandes.
