Bitsy Knox - Excellent Progress

2012-01-25T02:05:00.000-08:00

A Wintervening Edition, 2012, drawing, plant, painted wood, at "The Work Locates Itself" Leroy Neiman Gallery, Columbia University, New York.

Curators Robin Cameron and Kari Cwynar wrote a lovely text, here's what they said about my work in the show:

Bitsy Knox’s work locates itself in chance and the resulting narrative. Knox found a mysterious LP— “All Alone” by Rubeck —at a friend’s house in Rotterdam and was taken with the album cover. The record jacket lead Knox to ﬁnd, contact and exchange letters with the musician Rudi Fabeck (now living in Spain), until Fabeck abruptly cut ties. Knox completes the conversation herself, isolating and abstracting elements of the album cover and asserting her own position in relation to the object and its history. The resulting multi-me- dia work creates new distance between the thing itself and its existence in past and present. There are glaring unknowns. For this second iteration of this project, entitled A Wintervening Edition (2011), Knox further complicates what is there, and what is missing or dislocated, delivering parts of the whole: the album cover’s moonlit landscape, the sale stickers afﬁxed to the front, and a self-portrait in homage to the original.

2012-01-06T13:24:00.000-08:00

If you are in New York in January I hope you can make it. More info here.

2012-01-06T12:06:00.000-08:00

Hoarder/Forger, 2011, Copper wire and copper pennies.

Dozens of single strands of hair were picked up from my apartment floor, measured, then cut in copper wire and reformed as they had been found on the floor. Pennies found between my couch, wallowing in my purse, or wedged between furniture were polished and scattered. The installation was for the Ister's inaugural exhibition, "Homework", set at collector Alain Servais' sprawling loft in Schaerbeek.

2011-11-17T04:21:00.000-08:00

Kerengrimen Match, 2011, Mallo Money, Letter to Boyer Candy, and first two pages of Proust's "Jean Santeuil"

2011-11-17T04:13:00.000-08:00

Plans to Share My Bounty, 2009, letter to Cadbury's chocolate.

After finding what appeared to be a factory part lodged in my Cadbury's Dairy Milk bar a couple years ago, I wrote to Cadbury's with hopes of receiving a free chocolate bar, or perhaps many, which I would then present as an installation and offer to the audience, but was sadly greeted with a business-like cool from Cadbury in a letter which arrived a month later (will post it soon).

2011-09-30T05:13:00.000-07:00

The Improper Sister, 2010, Acrylic on Canvas

(documentation from TENT, Rottedam)

This triptych is currently installed at the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton until October 10th, following its selection as finalist for the RBC painting competition. It's then off to to the
Art Gallery of Hamilton on the 19th and the Power Plant in Toronto, Ontario on November 12.

2011-08-02T12:06:00.000-07:00

Collaboration with a.knackfuss for new collection D.Jam, SS2011 collection, Brussels, Belgium.

"..D.Jam is one of the pseudonyms for famous German writer Karl May.

He was noted mainly for adventure novels set in the American Old West,

best known for the characters of Winnetou and Old Shatterhand,

as well as books set in the Orient and Middle East.

May did not visit the places he described in his books until the very end of his

career.He compensated successfully for this lack of direct experience by a

combination of creativity, imagination and factual sources.

Should a book reach its purpose, so it must have a soul,

namely that of the author, and if it is written in buttoned-up coat,

I do not like to read it.

Old Surehand III, Freiburg 1896

The collection is inspired by the imaginary world created by Karl May

and reflects its colors and details.

The fact that women wear parts of a classical masculine wardrobe

conveys a strong but still feminine image.

Materials range from soft satin cotton to summer loden,

transparent georgette and waxed fabric. Patterns are loose and straight,

playing with discreet details, like hidden pleats and asymmetric forms.

Installation: Bitsy Knox

Photography: Sebastien Bonin

Make-up:Florence Samain

Styling: Simon-Pierre Toussaint with Pierre Daras, Alice Knackfuss

Models: Marine D., Orane, Clemence ( Dominique Models)

Alice asked me to contribute an installation for the set of her SS2011 lookbook. I'm excited to say that we have all kinds of other projects in the works in the coming months.

2011-07-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

The Observant Animate Inanimate: or Apartment Blues/Peaches/Mustards/Mauves, 2011
Acrylic on Foamcore, at L.E.S. Gallery, Vancouver, Canada

(work by Steven Hubert in first image, Photos by Byron Dauncey)

2011-06-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

Last week my wonderful friend Alice Knackfuss and I had the chance to collaborate on a photo shoot for her absolutely beautiful new SS line. The works I contributed to the shoot (what you see in this photo) will travel with the collection to Berlin in July for her showroom. I hope you have a chance to take a look if you are in Berlin, or at the lookbook on her site!

2011-06-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited (and surprised) to announce that I've been short-listed for this year's RBC painting prize. I'm among some really amazing artists:

Western Canada

Rebecca Brewer of Vancouver, BC
Thomas Chisholm of Victoria, BC
Bitsy Knox of Vancouver, BC
Deirdre McAdams of Vancouver, BC
Krisjanis Katkins-Gorsline of Winnipeg, MB

Central Canada

Jessica Groome of Guelph, ON
Tristram Lansdowne of Toronto, ON
Daniel Hutchinson of Toronto, ON
Kim Neudorf of London, ON
Beth Stuart of Toronto, ON

Eastern Canada

Julie Trudel of Montreal, PQ
Amy Schissel of Gatineau, PQ
Jared Peters of Saint John, NB
Ianick Raymond of Montreal, PQ
Adam Gunn of Halifax, NS

See you in Edmonton!

2011-06-25T07:58:00.000-07:00

If you are in Vancouver in the coming weeks, please come by LES Gallery (1879 Powell Street), where I am participating in a group exhibition entitled Whilst moving backwards through a series of thresholds, one finds oneself, inexorably, indoors, with Maryanne Casasanta, Steven Hubert, and Les Ramsay, curated by Jill Orsten.

2011-06-14T02:45:00.000-07:00

Untitled, Not For You To Know, 2011. Cell phone image.

2011-05-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

Certain Promises of Things Before and After, 2011, Oil on Board

Beginnings of a project which will follow the story of an unrealizable vase.

2011-05-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

Studio Purview: 1080 Edition, 2011.

2011-05-22T09:47:00.000-07:00

Scenes of Impossible Domestic, 2011, Oil on Found Bristol Board.

2011-04-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

A Long Overdue Appeal, 2011. Hand-made letter and envelope containing an invitation to a very special performance, to be discovered upon purchase at Sils Project Space's auction TONIGHT, April 16th, 2011.

2011-04-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

Robert Filiou's Cat, 2010. A free-standing cat painting is made for a re-interpretation of Robert Filiou's Raining Cats and Dogs, for The Clifford Irving Show, Objectif Exhibitions, December 2010. A live dog was used during performances set on this stage. Acrylic on styrofoam board (see bottom left of image). Lower image by K. Daem - Mai Abu ElDahab is also pictured!

2011-04-16T09:34:00.000-07:00

Lines, 2011. A 7" collaboration with Olivier Douard. Made as a response to Rubeck's "All Alone" for the finissage of my exhibition at Komplot entitled, I Still Say Yes.

2011-01-23T13:26:00.000-08:00

≈ Bitsy Knox : I Still Say Yes ≈
Solo exhibition at Komplot (295 Avenue Van Volxem, Brussels), curated by Constance Barrère D'Anglaterre and Sonia Dermience. January 18-February 25, 2011, with a finissage on the night of February the 25th celebrating the release of a special edition vinyl in response to Rubeck's "All Alone". Hope you can come!!!!

Thank you very much to Constance, Sonia, Damien, Alan, David, Diana, Hugo, and Olivier for all their input, hard work, and nice vibes!

2010-12-10T06:53:00.000-08:00

"I Still Say Yes", a solo exhibition by Bitsy Knox at Komplot, Brussels, Belgium, January 18th-February 25th, 2011. I hope you can make it!

2010-11-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

Studio Purview - BXL edition, 2010

2010-11-05T06:07:00.000-07:00

ZONDERPIT WILL BE PLAYING ON NOVEMBER 12th 2010 AT ROODKAPJE (MEENT) IN ROTTERDAM FOR THE ALBUM RELEASE PARTY OF OUR FRIENDS EKLIN. LOTS OF OTHER COOL GUYS AND GIRLS LIKE HYPE WILLIAMS, COTOPAXI, FYEOLK, AND RIK MOHLMANN ARE GOING TO PLAY TOO. COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

<>

2010-10-03T08:41:00.001-07:00

Those Who Fall Westward Together

I am a young a woman walking.
A flash of red swoops not two meters Westward.
A parrot, young, I judge with the imagined knowledge of an ornithologist.
And a woman passes, heading East.
And as she passes, her eyes suspend themselves momentarily on my gaze.
Doubtfully the woman murmurs,
“Como aqua parrot chocolate”
My gaze fixed on my image in red,
I say to the parrot, and not to the passing woman,
“Mais nous, on joue, l’enjeu qu’on joue c’est nous”
And this parrot, this displaced caricature of the South Amazon, he parrots,
“Mais nous, on joue, l’enjeu qu’on joue c’est nous”
I think a while and with frustration reply,
Mais c’est jou, jou bent ma personage pour jij and jou and ghou and jij,
and it is you who will return to the sea”
And of course he irritatingly replies,
“Mais c’est jou, jou bent ma personage pour jij and jou and ghou and jij,
and it is you who will return to the sea”
But he, this parroting parrot cannot see,
that this is my megalomaniacal prophecy
(for this parrot to return Southward to the sea),
so that I might not hear him again repeat me”.
And sinds dan wij twee (the parrot and me)
We cross each other’s paths occasionally,
where we carry on similarly confusing conversations collaboratively.
But most often of all,
It’s through a reflection on the my Westward wall
In which we henceforth speak at all.
And each time we see each other (through this reflection on the Westward wall),
the parrot’s wisdom does myself befall:
“For language is a vision, it is no imposition
It is not bound to you. There are endless horizons it must travel through.
And what pleases me most of all is the chance for it to fall,
for it to bounce off the wall, and for it to be seen for what it is:
as sound, as image, that’s all.”
And I repeat,
“For language is a vision, it is no imposition
It is not bound to you.
There are endless horizons it must travel through.
And what pleases me most of all is the chance for it to fall,
for it to bounce off the wall,
and for it to be seen for what it is: as sound, as image, that’s all.”

Those Who Fall Westward Together, September 18th 2010, Performance, DominoKingdom (Channel 1, with Zhana Ivanova and Sophie Oldenbourg), Brussels, Belgium.

I had the great pleasure recently to be asked by DominoKingdom to contribute to the second in a series of events in which artists are asked to respond to the event which preceded the one they take part in. I prepared a performance in three parts, starting with a poem (see above) constructed loosely from the three texts (in Dutch, English, and French) I was asked to respond to. Beer in silver bottles then emerged from three plastic bags. The bottles were passed around and shared as a recording of the Dutch text (recorded on my cell phone) was played. Finally, everyone was asked to find a partner to perform a trust exercise, in which one must ask if they trust their partner enough to fall into their arms. Great thanks to Adva and Miriam for a lovely event, and Tiziana Penna for the photos!

2010-08-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

Becoming a Rock: After Stevie Wonder and Sun Bear Book (2010) from Bitsy Knox on Vimeo.

Becoming Rocks (After Stevie Wonder and Sun Bear Book), Video Triptych Installation (excerpt shown here), 2010
(Shown at Tent for the Piet Zwart Institute Graduation exhibition If You Say Something, See Something), 2010.

2010-06-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

Snack Time, 2010, Sculpture (Wood, Acrylic Paint, Milk Biscuits, Bananas, Yellow Polyester)

2010-06-12T06:33:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I had the pleasure to be invited to the second session of SILEX LEX, a collaborative printmaking workshop at PianoFabriek in Brussels. We used a process using a risograph machine, which works a little like a colour photocopier and allowed us to easily layer and mix our drawings.

Participants included: Greg 33, Pica Pica, Julien & Martin Meert, Harrisson, Nurse, Alex, Jonathan Poliart, Benoit Platéus, Lodovico Corsini and Axel PTTL.

Check out wonderful new mummy Nurse's blog for more photos!

2010-06-06T04:44:00.001-07:00

Zonder Pit played our first gig last night. The live recording can be downloaded here!

Thanks to everyone who came out! We had a really nice time

2010-05-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

Wall of Death, 2010 from Bitsy Knox on Vimeo.

Hate To Say I Told You So/Wall of Death, 2010. Collaboration with Rotterdam hardcore group Onnodig Krassen and Diana Duta.

Photos courtesy of Florian Cramer!

2010-04-26T05:48:00.000-07:00

Cabinet Noir, 2010. Palm Tree, Triangular wooden sculpture painted with Acrylic, and framed letter with mylar.

A letter from a prison pen pal of mine is framed behind smoked mylar, obscuring the ability to read the letter while highlighting with a small cut triangle, another triangle cut into the letter itself, a marking apparently made by the prison guard who must read all of our correspondence before it is sent of recieved. The cut in the paper is thus an indication of an invisible third party, the third point in a triangle he so aptly created in cutting a wedge from the letter for analysis. The palm tree and the triangular sculpture are echoes of the motif's enacted in the letter: negotiations of the physicalization of a third party, a space of transfer, the movement between indoor and outdoor, the space which floats between two end points.

2010-04-26T05:37:00.000-07:00

SMOKE BOMB (very easy to make), display of homemade smoke bombs for Piet Zwart Institute Open Dag, 2010: A collaboration with the inimitable Lee Welch (link to his work here).

Smoke bombs can be made by soaking newspaper in ammonium nitrate and water, allowing the paper to dry, then rolling it up, securing the package and lighting the paper. The result is a short but steady stream of smoke. Literally hundreds of explanatory videos for 'smoke bombs' and 'ninja smoke bombs' exist on the Internet, making apparent this small but dedicated faction of the homemade pyrotechnics community (mostly teenage boys) . We tried three recipes, this one being the most successful. One almost caused a chemical fire at our studio building, the other one just sort of sucked (the ping pong ball one, of course).

Video documentation from Diana Duta <3

2010-04-26T00:42:00.000-07:00

Click on the drawing to listen to one of the latest Zonder Pit tracks (recorded Easter Sunday, 2010).

2010-03-27T02:05:00.000-07:00

New ˆ∆∆˚, March 21st, 2010

Click on the Elgin Marbles to hear our latest recording. What was formerly Zonder Pit has just lost two of its members (Eleonore and Bernhard) to geographic re-location, which carries sadness but also newness. We are now comprised of Diana Duta, myself, and our newest band member, the wonderful Jannis. He will soon be joined (hopefully!) by the inimitable Rachel Carey.

Note: Suggestions on new band name welcome!

2010-03-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

Growing From Dead Trees (My Poor Old Soul), 2010 - excerpt from Bitsy Knox on Vimeo.

Growing from Dead Trees (After My Poor Old Soul), HD Video and Acrylic on Canvas, 2010.
Music is Pre-Bach by Pierre Arvay, Rietveld chair made by Sjoerd Van Leeuwen.
Four Participants are asked to retell a story of a Past Life experience which I supposedly experienced as a young girl (yet have no memory of).
Reincarnation of a painting made as a backdrop for the video, installed adjacent to the projection.

2010-03-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

Studio Purview #?, 2010

2010-02-25T06:44:00.000-08:00

Strategies For a More Colourful World, Photograph, transparencies, 2010

2010-02-23T03:12:00.001-08:00

This is the Sound of the Body Falling In Love (After Carl Sagan) + After Some Reveries, HD Video, 2010

Video documentation of a single practice/ recording of Zonder Pit, focusing only on the marble slab which each practice is centered around. Each practice's offerings are left untouched on the slab, so that its contents grow over time. The video is about 30 minutes long, even though the practice went on for over 2 hours.

2010-02-23T03:00:00.001-08:00

Portrait Workshop from Bernd Krauss'

Piet Zwart Institute blog, 2010

(Also Known As "Lil' Bernd"-my title)

Bernd's signature colours (bright blue and orange) in origami shirt form made as a friendly gesture in anticipation of a studio visit.

2010-02-11T09:46:00.001-08:00

Rest in Peace, Alexander McQueen.
You will be so missed.
Love, A Devotee.

2010-02-11T07:20:00.001-08:00

Je Ne Connais Que Le Feu (For Batsheva), 2010, by Zonder Pit.

Now on Soundcloud (click image from Carl Sagan's Cosmos for link).

Zonder Pit is an experimental band with several members: Bernhard Garnicnig, Eleonore Joulin, Diana Duta, and myself, Bitsy Knox, as well as a rotating cast of ghosts and strangers. We improvise with sounds, voices and objects from our surroundings. Our music is an attempt at starting a conversation. We build our instruments and our music as we play. Music is a weed, a rhizome.

2010-02-11T07:09:00.001-08:00

Alph-Art and Ventures into the Memory of Past Lives (My Poor Old Soul). Still, 2010. HD Video and Painting on canvas. Music is Pre-Bach by Pierre Arvay, Rietveld chair made by Sjoerd Van Leeuwen.

Four Participants are asked to retell a story of a Past Life experience which I supposedly experienced as a young girl (yet have no memory of).

2010-01-29T08:50:00.001-08:00

http://struggles.tumblr.com

E.S.L. Internet Collaboration, 2010

2010-01-23T10:32:00.001-08:00

Thanks to all who came out for Comment Parler Franglais/How to Speak Frenglish at Public School in Brussels on Thursday night!

For those who missed it, some helpful tips:

GET DRUNK SO THAT YOU CAN FLIRT WITH LANGUAGE
MAKE UP WORDS
EMBODY THE LANGUAGE YOU WANT TO KNOW BY TREATING IT LIKE MUSIC
SPEAK WITH YOUR EYES LIKE TYRA BANKS
EMBARRASS YOURSELF! FIND EMPATHY IN EXPOSURE!

2009-12-09T04:24:00.001-08:00

Diana Duta
is
the
best!

Here we are playing with her yards and yards of wool disguised as sheep disguised as string of thought.

Check out her beautiful work

2009-11-30T03:37:00.001-08:00

Impasse Venitienne, 2009. Performance and Installation, Projection, Slide, Bottles of Beer, Spray Paint, Wood, Paint, Cardboard, Text.

Bottles of beer spray-painted copper are situated on a plinth in the shape of a parallelogram, which is painted three shades of green in trompe l'oeil style. They are lit at first by the light from a slide projector. The projector is then picked up and held by a participant in the performance, and an image is projected just above the plinth. The performer enters, opens a beer which lies on the plinth, inviting the audience to as well, and reads a transcription of a dialogue between the artist and another party. The performance ends when the dialogue ends and the space is illuminated by natural light.

2009-11-16T04:51:00.000-08:00

Studio Purview: Trompe L'Oeil, Fishing Net, A Lag after B. Fuller, Gouache, Pencil, Paper, 2009

2009-11-16T04:38:00.000-08:00

Alas Poor Yorick: Tchaikowsky Death Rattle, India Ink on Paper, August 2009

Part of a series of preliminary drawings of near dead plants in my studio, accompanied by an ode.

2009-11-16T02:53:00.000-08:00

ZONDER PIT is an improvisational music experiment founded by Eléonore Joulin (hand-made box guitar), Bernhard Garnicnig (tape), Diana Duta (calimba) and myself (vocals, paper), with ghost friends who pipe in from outside our studio window and friends who call on their mobile phones. We conduct sceances by candlelight, empowered by substances and texts and the production of our instruments. Constantly tuning, we talk amongst ourselves through the voice of our instruments.

Watch out for sceance dates coming up soon in Rotterdam.

2009-10-21T05:24:00.001-07:00

Tchaikowsky Death Rattle (For Yorick)/Still Kickin'!, 2009

One cactus, once almost dead, stands on a paper stage with a mysterious object playing Andre Tchaikowsky's piano concertos. Every time the phone rings, the cactus vibrates.

2009-10-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

Ambidexterity/The Organized Mind: Limbo (After Jim Henson), 2009

The above images are part of an ongoing diary I keep in my project to become Penwald Ambidextrous. This project is about to go on exhibition as part of the marvelous "The Malady of Writing" show/open library at M.A.C.B.A in Barcelona, Spain. Each week, more pages will be sent by mail to fill the dossier available for perusal. Each page can be physically handled and read by the viewer (The Malady of Writing opens November 20th!)

2009-10-11T07:54:00.001-07:00

Space is the Place, 2009

Performance in which I used a Sage Stick to cleanse negative and residual energy from my studio building at Piet Zwart Institute.

2009-07-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

.

Making Friends with My Surroundings, or, Talk to Eachother, Damnit!
Proposal for anthropomorphism in my very own damn neighbourhood, 2009

2009-07-25T09:45:00.000-07:00

1) Swishing water around in your mouth and moving your tongue around the waves you create will make you feel as if you are swimming.

2) Removing all your clothing and getting dressed again in different clothing will provide an air of glamour.

3) Shave your skin, hair will grow.

Project Proposal for Three Easy Ways to Enliven Everyday Life, 2009.

2009-06-25T02:17:00.000-07:00

I AM GOING FOR A WALK,

FIND SOME STUFF,

THEN BUILD SOMETHING WITH THE STUFF,

THEN THROW IT OUT.

Build, Destroy, Build (After Andrew W.K.) Proposed Public Project Involving Walking as Research, and Teamwork, 2009.

2009-06-10T06:49:00.001-07:00

2009-06-10T06:42:00.001-07:00

F.O.M.O (a.k.a. The Fear of Missing Out)/Life Without Buildings, 2009, paper, spray-paint, theatre lights, found wood, acrylic paint, various found materials.

Reconstructions of fireworks, set in tableau within a narrow corridor space within a large room. From outside the fireworks comes the distant techno thumps of a party happening upstairs.

2009-06-10T06:33:00.001-07:00

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? How Do you Hold a Moonbeam In Your Hand? Acrylic on Paper and Cardstock, Glass, Lettraset

Part of a series of paintings examining the language of space and sound, juxtaposing an atmospheric perpsectival view of the West Coast Mountains with an interpretation of sound waves.

2009-06-06T06:33:00.000-07:00

Self-Portrait: Feeling Alone in a Public Space, 2009

50 Windows or 50 Beers, Either Way You Disappear Entirely (Atmospheric Perspective), 2009

Two photos taken in Warsaw, Poland, with an instant camera.

2009-04-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

Another E.S.L. Mystery, Acrylic on paper, 2008

E.S.L. is a world-wide gang of educated_sappy_losers who believe in the sanctity of uncertainty. To members of E.S.L., there are no lies, only mystery. Actions are seldom concrete and never pre-meditated, and written word is often meaningless and used only to denote a past presence. Our stories are neither truth nor fiction. We are lovers and loners, terrified but continuous.

2009-04-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

Everything's Pilin' Up...

You should come to the Piet Zwart Institute Open Studio Day

April 18th, 10-19hrs, 2009

Mauritsstraat 36, Rotterdam, Netherlands

And then,

Come to the Witte De With (http://www.wdw.nl/project.php?id=194) where I'll be dj-ing some songs and showing some videos by myself and others after their symposium on artists.

2009-04-13T10:33:00.001-07:00

Thoughts On Waiting and Control: Seventeen beer bottles with no labels, perhaps torn off during an evening of sexual-frustration, an ode to mourning the night after; Fifteen paint brushes bought on sale and never used because they are cheap and warped; One cactus plant bought on my first grocery store trip in Rotterdam which resembles a regular old house plant but doesn't need much water to grow because it is a cactus; One table top found on the street re-painted baby pink to cheer it up a bit; About 800 sheets of paper, 780-ish of which are cut and stacked to form a bean-hole, meant to serve as a place to hide possessions; the remaining sheets of paper are left un-cut and six have been sun bleached and seperated from the less faded sheets; One gold frame with glitter glued to its glass, made in a moment of fervent glue-sniffing; One cat figurine bought at a junk store on Mijnsherenlaan, nearby my first apartment in Rotterdam, keeping a watchful eye out on its surroundings. All objects are placed on top of two table tops which were re-painted specially, and four palettes.

Installation, 2009

Installed at the Piet Zwart Institute Open Day, April 2009.

2009-03-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

More Essays on Cats in Limbo, or Refined Studio Diaries Examining the Spatial & Spiritual Relationship Between Cats, Studio-Based Objects (or Works in Progress), and Geometric Colour Mirrors, Graphite on Paper, 2009

These drawings are from a series investigating the potential for drawing to act as an alternative spatial plane, wherein disparate objects are asked to communicate and then reflected back on themselves by the shades of their forms. Cats are a subject of interest due to their historic ability to metaphysically transcend their mundane existence as house pets.

2009-03-16T14:13:00.000-07:00

Quiet Chaos, 4:38am, 2009

From a series of photos taken at various intervals when my foster-cat, Stella, would knock over objects in my bedroom for unknown reasons. The flash of the camera was meant to act as a non-verbal form of communication between Stella and I (taken with a disposable camera).

2009-03-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

Lines, Vines, and Trying Times, Appropriated public project in dedication to the Jonas Brothers, Author Unknown, 2009

During the winter of 2008-2009, a series of public interventions were anonymously erected thoughout the centre of Rotterdam, Netherlands, in anticipation of the Jonas Brothers' forthcoming album, Lines, Vines, and Trying Times. These interventions were documented and framed to allow for an alternative form of public viewing.

2009-03-15T03:14:00.001-07:00

www.bitsyknox.com

2009-02-05T07:01:00.000-08:00

2009-01-22T06:57:00.000-08:00

2008-12-19T13:30:00.000-08:00

Bands I almost started, Installation, 2008, Shudder Gallery, Vancouver BC

Bands I almost started investigates the potential for a series of bands, and by virtue of this, the potential for an individual's involvement in music, to exist. Three bands were selected, 'Nardok', 'The Gilbertine Order', and 'Woman'. Album covers were designed over top of little known record covers, and concepts were delineated on over-sized didactic panels. Three large pinatas were made and subsequently burst during the opening of the exhibition at Shudder Gallery in Vancouver, liberating nearly a pound of glitter. Not seen here (yet) is a third component, a video of a scene from Mariah Carey's pseudo-biography 'Glitter', looping the same second of video in which Carey realises her life is complete, just as a subsequent shower of glitter rains down on her in the form of a filmic transition.

2008-12-05T05:52:00.000-08:00

Studio Purview, 2009

The word 'purview' derives from the French Anglo-Norman 'Perveu', meaning 'Forseen'. This photo was taken in my studio during November of 2008. It shows my wall as it is becoming filled with possible project ideas and the corner of my desk as it becomes piled with practical items such as an external hard-drive and movie tickets.

2008-11-26T09:24:00.000-08:00

www.bitsyknox.com

2008-11-26T08:39:00.000-08:00

During the late 80's and early 90's, Michael Jackson devoted much of his oeuvre to humanitarian causes. Most can recall his song for USA for Africa, 'We Are The World" (see lyrics below), which recruited many of the biggest stars of the time in pop music to come together in support of feeding poor African nations. Another example might be his hit, "Black or White", which decried the 'one-ness' of the world: if we come together as one, and remind ourselves that it doesn't matter if we are black, or white, or whatever, then we can abolish racism, poverty, etc. etc. It is a massive message for global unity which culminates in a fantastic morphing of 'faces from different places', captured above. The video is a fascinating portrayal of aspects of transformation, although perhaps its most interesting contribution is, for me, the idea of 'greyness', of an inability to distinguish clarity from one point to the next. Further to this, and most interestingly to me, Michael uses the image and sound of a cat (in this case a panther) as a transformative figure, a vehicle which enables his escape from the chaotic world of the music-video set but perhaps also the entire point of the video itself. In the full length of this video (which was not regularly screened on television), Michael's global-vision for 'one-ness' becomes a personal, violent, and guttural exclamation of clear frustration.

You can watch the full clip here.

There comes a time
When we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can't go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We are all a part of
God's great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Send them your heart
So they'll know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stone to bread
So we all must lend a helping hand

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

When you're down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well, let us realize
That a change will only come
When we stand together as one

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me