Emily Cook

Postcard!

Jeff made this amazing video of our first day of installation

Check it out. Emily and I look super serious/grumpy

Transplant from Jeff Ngan on Vimeo.

Comeau and I just got a grant from the awesome foundation! We plan to make a giant living paper tunnel book on an empty lot in Ottawa.

*Transplant* is an outdoor living book installation. Constructed from found natural materials both living and dead, this installation is subject to the whims of nature and the designs of man. Each page of this book resembles an arch inviting the audience to enter the immense tunnel book. Within the pages are paper pockets where seeds will begin to sprout as the structure is gradually beaten down by the weather. Additional arches/pages will be added throughout the exhibition as the evolution of decay and growth take over. This evolution speaks to the ebb and flow of construction and decay as the manmade world interacts with the natural one. The story of this project is one of transformation and reclamation of the urban landscape by nature. It is the story of a cycle of decay and rebirth and of a balance that can be achieved when nature’s collaboration is desired rather than fought

check out Emily Comeau’s blog

and the Awesome Ottawa blog

Recently Emily Comeau and i collaborated with Eden Kaill Fenrick to create a short dance piece call Objects  of Desire. Eden interacted with a “body” made of objects in her bed. Emily made the awesome afghan shawl and the objects got hooked to it. We both made various objects that referenced past lovers and there were found objects as well. The paper headboard is mine. It is made the same way as some of the boats.

Hi everyone I am in a show in Montreal at Le Cagibi 5490 St. Laurent 514.509.1199 March 15-20th Vernissage on the 20th.

Will post more soon

Here is a preview

This is A Sudden Blow  from a series on Leda and the Swan

Here is picture of a book I made and  gave to Merrill Cook.  Its a little out of focus so I’ve commissioned my grandpa to take a picture and send it over but that may take a while so in the mean time here you go.  There is a unicorn in the forest if you squint.

hello my lovely vistors,

I just thought I’d let you know there is an RSS feed if you want to be notified of updates. Either click on the link at the bottom of the page that say RSS or got to emilycook.ca/feed and follow the dirrections!

I’m off to my first day at OCAD!

love, Emily

check out the updated bio and CV!

Here is my artist statement about the Drift Show

Artist Statement

Boats, water, swamp, forests and natural decay mingle in this work to allude to our volatile world. It speaks both of big picture changes, shifts in climate that guide the direction of our collective journey, and of the smaller changes that are a part of our singular journeys. The metaphor of losing one’s way in the wilderness resonates with people on an individual level because it is so often difficult to see the right way forward. It is difficult to speak of life without referring back to images of pathfinding. One “makes their way through life,” “chooses a direction” or “finds their path”.  Water offers another metaphor of wide open uncharted spaces, or of drifting down a river whose currents choose the way for us.

This work is also about material. The objects in the installation are made of paper and found objects and the method of creating them was very much affected by the climate in which they were made. I have negotiated a balance between control and chance by setting up possibilities for collaboration with nature through weather, locally found materials and paper.
All this is to say the work is about change and what happens during periods of change, when we are neither one thing nor another. During this flux there are more possibilities than at other more static moments. We may not have complete control over our futures, but the mindfulness with which we make those choices given to us moves our lives and the lives of others.  It is our choice to drift or to steer the way.

There are some shots of the installed MFA show work under Papermaking, enjoy!

My MFA reception will be May 9th from 6-8 pm at the LSU School of at Gallery 113 Foster Hall in Baton Rouge Louisiana, The show will be up from April 28th to May-9th.

For a sneak peak  check out the recent work section