Odradek reveals shadow histories left behind from historical collective narratives
The first 2017 Ortona Artist in Resident Caitlin Siân Richards takes over the Ortona Gallery with drawings, light, shadows and string, searching for Kafka’s Odradek. The Odradek is a star shaped spool of thread of unknown provenance that inhabits a household for generations, that becomes the clutter and dust of a space. It is a passive witness to life holding onto broken strings, the histories within a residence.
This installation conveys the experience of a person who inhabits an enclosed space and sensitive to the history of the building and nearby area. Rossdale is the oldest Edmonton neighbourhood, being the first location of the original HBC Fort Edmonton, where there has been countless events, activity, settlements, exchanges, rezoning, construction and deconstruction. The Ortona Armoury was originally built in 1914 as an HBC saddlery and is now home of an artistic community that is facing displacement for September 2018 in light of the demolition of the insides. Caitlin documents and stores the inner world of a body and house, finding residual memories in a room that are transferred to a surface through the artist.
This installation opens at the Ortona Gallery, in the Ortona Armoury at 9722 102 street, in Rossdale, Edmonton, from February 11th – 26th 2017. The Opening of the Odradek of the Ortona is on Saturday February 11th from 1-4 P.M. and the send off is on Sunday February 26th from 6-9 P.M. with live music by Ocra. The Ortona Artist in Residency program is presented by the Ortona Armoury Tenants Association (OATA).
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