Wendy Toogood: Narratives

Opening Reception: Saturday, June 1, 2024
Artist in attendance from 2-5PM

The works exhibited in Wendy Toogood: Narratives cover a forty-year time frame. The earliest works are abstract, or nonobjective, and they explore the use of various fabrics without any recognizable imagery. At this time, Wendy had become aware of a wide variety of new and exotic fabrics made with natural and synthetic fibres.

Her collection of artifacts brought back from Mexico were the inspiration for the Mexican works such as coconut masks, hand carved figures from Oaxaca, dough heads made for the special Day of the Dead bread, Milagros, papier mâché dolls and skeletons, ceramics and various other items Toogood owns. Most of these objects were hand made using a variety of simple materials. These works gave Wendy a great deal of enjoyment, and she admired the creativity of the artisans who created these pieces. Her experience of attending Day of the Dead ceremonies was very moving and inspirational. These objects and events were the motivation for the series of cloth constructions and paintings in this exhibition.

The Nakusp Narratives [the smaller works in the exhibition] document Toogood’s life and interests in Nakusp, BC. Everyday events such as gardening, friendships, shopping, cooking, news events and political events happening in the world are all potential themes for this series which she has been working on since 2006. The figure in each of these works represents the artist herself, they are all “selfies”. She animates and exaggerates the figure to represent the mood she wants to express in the work.