Walking through a forest, at times with a clear path, at times blocked by undergrowth; moving branches aside to try to go further.  Light travelling through coloured glass; light stopping at the edge of a dark opacity.  A window grille; a chain link fence.  A housing, a boundary, a porous shelter.

The stained glass artwork, sculpture, and photography presented in Through, and through highlight notions of passage, blockage, and movement: what passes through, what is not able to pass through.

The main gallery is dominated by a large glass installation that is activated by light, which in turn fills the surrounding space.  Indeed, light is at the centre of this exhibition, both physically and conceptually: the dappled light of forests, the pre-digital glowing screens of stained glass, projected and cast light. Light’s restoration of life, magic, and optimism. Smaller pieces throughout both galleries act as architectural ciphers.  

At times structural, at times decorative, these objects are ambiguous: a glass lattice could be a garden support, it could be a dividing line.  Through, and through offers shifting, overlapping metaphors: idyllic reverie, reprieve, entanglement in the woods, looking for a way out.

BIOGRAPHY

Sarah Ciurysek (MB) (she/her) is a Canadian settler artist exploring the relationships we have with the ground.  Most often, soil, roots, and branches figure prominently in large-scale photo installations, though Sarah’s photo practice intersects more broadly with audio, film and video, and most recently, glass.

Sarah’s artworks have been exhibited across Canada, in the US, UK, Austria, and in South Africa, and she has completed residencies nationally and internationally at Radar and the Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World (both England), Textílsetur Íslands (Iceland), and MASEREEL (Belgium).  Sarah grew up in northern Alberta in Treaty 8 territory, where she is researching decolonizing land use options as part of a long-term SSHRC research/creation project.  She lives in Treaty 1 Territory in Winnipeg, where she is an Associate Professor at the School of Art, University of Manitoba.