Sculpture; nylon, air and electric fan

*This project took place as part of STAGES 2017 and is no longer on display

Location: 671 Corydon Avenue (corner of Hugo Street)
Hours: Accesible 24Hrs

Erica Eyres’ artwork is influenced by the social and artistic milieu of Winnipeg, where she was born and regularly returns from her current home in Glasgow.  She embraces awkwardness and humour through episodic work which often has a lo-fi craft aesthetic. Her biography is frequently the subject of her work, which she obscures through costuming, narration and role reversals. For STAGES she has disembodied and blown up a head into an inflatable sculpture that she has placed outside on top of a small commercial building. The head hauntingly yet pathetically is tipped on its side, severed from its body, tied to the roof of an abandoned building, which is destined for demolition. Head is set hovering from above, perched on the corner of a busy street; it is both starling and comical. For those passing by, there is a possible double-take. The inflatable has the implied connotation of an advertising gimmick, but something isn’t right.  The eyes are off center, the nose flattened and the mouth pursed, and the building below is vacant with the sign covered in white vinyl. The head just looms.

Erica Eyres’ artistic production is defined by an admirable proficiency in a range of media including drawing, film, and most recently ceramics. Thwarting her refined skills, she embraces awkwardness and humour that has a lo-fi aesthetic. Her biography is often the subject of her work, which she obscures through costuming, narration and role reversals. She is influenced by the social and artistic milieu of Winnipeg, where Eyres was born and regularly returns from her current home in Glasgow.

Eyres mines visual references from the surrealism of daily life and the aesthetic of TV, Eyres is interested in failure, and misaligned characters. Her drawings often play on sexuality and fantasy that is always slightly unsettled. In a similar mode her work with ceramics draws on everyday objects such as candles, insects, food or body parts, which operate as stand-alone objects that are decontextualized or estranged. Eyres graduated with an MFA from Glasgow School of Art in 2004. She has had solo exhibitions at CCA, Glasgow and the Kunsthaus, Erfurt, with selected group exhibitions including PS1, New York; Plug In ICA, Winnipeg; and The Akureyri Art Museum, Akureyri, Iceland. Recent exhibitions include The Vegetable Store, part of Glasgow International 2016; Holidays in the Future, at Lisa Kehler Art + Projects, Winnipeg (2015); and Biography Channel, ASC Gallery, London (2014). Upcoming projects include a solo exhibition at Queen’s Park Railway Club, Glasgow (2017). She is currently doing her PhD in Fine Art at Northumbria University.

La production artistique d’Eric Eyre se définit par une admirable aptitude dans l’utilisation d’une vaste gamme de média tels que la peinture, le film et plus récemment la céramique. Contrecarrant ses talents raffinés, elle adopte maladresse et humour avec une esthétique lo-fi. Sa biographie est souvent le sujet de son travail qu’elle dissimule par des costumes, de la narration et des inversions de rôle. Elle est influencée par le milieu social et artistique de Winnipeg où elle est née et revient régulièrement à partir de Glasgow où elle vit. Eyres extrait des références visuelles du surréalisme de la vie quotidienne et de l’esthétique télévisuelle, elle s’intéresse à l’échec, et aux personnages mal accordés. Ses peintures jouent souvent sur la sexualité et l’imagination qui est toujours légèrement perturbée. Sur un mode similaire, son travail de la céramique s’appuie sur des objets du quotidien tels que des bougies, des insectes, de la nourriture ou des partie du corps, qui opèrent comme des objets indépendants qui sont décontextualisés ou séparés.

Eyres a reçu son Master ès Beaux Arts de la Glasgow School of Art en 2004. Elle a tenu des expositions individuelles aux CCA, Glasgow et à la Kunsthaus, Erfurt, ainsi qu’une sélection d’expositions collectives PS1, New York; Plug In ICA, Winnipeg; et le Akureyri Art Museum, Akureyri, Islande. Ces dernières expositions ont eu lieu au Vegetable Store , un partie de Glasgow International 2016; Holidays in the Future , à Lisa Kehler Art + Projects, Winnipeg (2015); et Biography Channel , ASC Gallery, Londres (2014). Les projets à venir inclut une exposition en solo au Queen’s Park Railway Club, Glasgow (2017). Elle prépare actuellement sa thèse en Beaux-Arts à Northumbria University.