New exhibition at Two Rivers considers importance of connection during pandemic

A new exhibition featuring work by Prince George – based visual artist Audrey McKinnon is coming to the Two Rivers Gallery.

An exhibition-installation hybrid, the pieces each consider the importance of human connection, especially during the pandemic.

I Miss Your Faces is comprised of large scale portraits of McKinnon, as well as her friends and family.

The portraits are hung, and then extended as the artist paints directly onto the gallery walls.

“The pandemic has been emotionally difficult for many,” says Assistant Curator, Meghan Hunter- Gauthier.

“The paint on the wall is symbolic for emotions that can no longer be contained, and must be released.”

In McKinnon’s opinion, painting directly on gallery walls challenges the expectation that paintings solely exist in a predetermined shape on canvas.

“It is a nod to the audacity and transience of graffiti and street art,” said McKinnon, who describes her work as expressive and colourful, embodying a graffiti aesthetic.

For the artist, this exhibition is equally about impermanence.

“McKinnon’s wall-paintings will be removed once this exhibition is over–this affirms that nothing lasts fever, including this pandemic and the emotional challenges that come with it,” said Hunter-Gauthier.

She adds the collection provokes viewers to consider the friends and family they can no longer spend time with in person, and intends to inspire a way though melancholy, making room for playfulness and joy.

“We have missed so much of the spontaneity that comes from being in each others’ presence over the last year, and I want to bring that feeling into this space with my work. I hope people
will walk away from this exhibit feeling like they have been in my presence, even if I can’t be there in real-time,” explained McKinnon.

I Miss Your Faces will be installed in the Rustad Galleria.

It is curated by Meghan Hunter-Gauthier and will open to the public tomorrow.

The public is invited to attend a Facebook Live Artist Talk that will take place on Two Rivers Gallery’s Facebook page at 7:30 pm tomorrow.