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Structures (detail), 1999Wood block print on paper 25 x 90" Photo: Melanie Hamilton |
Erik Edson was born in 1968 and has an M.F.A. from the University of Windsor. He lives and works in Sackville, New Brunswick. Presently he is an artist in residence at Open Studio in Toronto.
One of Eric Edson's earlier works, Symbols and Structures, exemplifies some of the themes that recur in his recent projects. In this work, one side of the diptych, Symbols, contains black outlined objects directly appropriated from a map legend. The peculiarity of the symbols is that what might usually be thought of as 'natural' (for example sheep, beets, fish, trees, corn) exist alongside human made-objects (tools, a gun, wine, cutlery, transport, a book). This might lead us to the conclusion that everything we have a symbolic conception of is humanly manufactured. Likewise, Structures - the other side of the diptych - is a print of the various incarnations of shelters (teepees, longhouses, earthlodges, plank houses, barns). They are buildings that arise out of function, perhaps guided by a conception of how best to build them, yet their purpose is not reduced to a symbol. It is the comfort and domesticated feel of the subject matter that invites curiosity, while only later does one realize the ubiquity of the manufactured environment. An excellent analogy in understanding Edson's art is likening the relationship of Astroturf and the lawn: one is entirely made of plastic, bright green and scratchy; while the other is alive and feels good underfoot. Yet both are constructed. Likewise, as much as there is a domestication of 'wild' nature, there is equally a domestication of the purely cold, machine-like simulation. His work provokes us to question what is natural in our current environment. |