Chukwuemeka (Eme) Ocheli, and Benson Wisdom, two students from UOIT and Durham College, on a visit to the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, took a liking to a central piece of James Kirkpatrick’s exhibit which opens Friday Mar 1 2019.
Slowcity.ca contributor and videographer, Steven Frank, was also visiting at the time and captured the two students creating an on-the-spot jam.
There is so much to unpack in this short clip. This random act is exactly what Kirkpatrick was creating an environment for. Using everything from drawing, painting, sculpture, textiles, zines, mask-making to experimental sound improvisation parsed through hip-hop culture Kirkpatrick, through his own creativity has created an environment where other’s creativity is sparked and manifested.
In his own exploratory works, Kirkpatrick is building a foundation stone for a future for cities. Who wouldn’t want a gallery where folks can feel so comfortable as to interact on their own terms, with the art on display. and who wouldn’t want to live in a city where such an act can happen? “To the Unseen Future” blurs the lines between artistic disciplines but also between the art and the beholder and the gallery and the city which surrounds it.
James Kirkpatrick, Most Changes (detail), 2017, spray paint and acrylic on board