Nice to 'Meet' You - Final Thesis Exhibition and Reception
Reception: Wednesday, April 1 4-8 pm
Gales Gallery
105 Accolade West Building, York University
Open daily from 10 - 4 pm or by appointment
The exhibition runs from Monday, March 30 to Friday, April 3, 2015
About the Exhibition
This is the final thesis exhibition for Christos Pantieras in partial fulfillment of the degree requirements for the Master of Fine Arts at York University.
"Words today are infinitely produced. Words are detritus. Words are additive as they pile up. Words are recycled, re-purposed, reclaimed. Words are both physical and material that can be inserted into the environment and engaged. Words are temporary, reshaped, shoveled, hoarded, molded, and discarded quickly. Words are treated by their material qualities as what they weigh has gained value over what they mean." K. Goldsmith
The works in Nice to Meet You take on such qualities as described by Goldsmith in the use of language as a material. The exhibition explores how we connect and communicate through social media and online platforms in our bid to initiate, achieve, and/or maintain an intimate connection. Digital words indicating intent are sourced from both text messages and hook-up apps Scruff, Grindr, and GROWLr and subsequently cast in concrete and sorted, stacked, arranged, and piled in three sculptural installations. A series of emails that were once composed in regret are impressed, torn, and documented as works on paper and large-scale photography. When a connection is halted, what is the ongoing story that these online platforms dont tell? Is it truly over? What resonates as a lingering relational fragment?
About the Artist
Christos Pantieras is an installation and mixed media artist who explores the frailty of personal connections and the humanism that is lost from the interaction of online dating. He received a BFA from the University of Ottawa and is expected to complete an MFA from York University in Spring 2015. Pantieras has received grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the City of Ottawa. Select exhibitions include The Ottawa Art Gallery, Modern Fuel ARC, White Water Gallery, and the Luminato Festival.
Acknowledgements
The Susan Crocker and John Hunkin Award in Fine Art
Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships Program Masters Scholarships SSHRC
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