Life's Work: A Visual Memoir
by B.A. Lampman
at the Victoria Arts Council Gallery
June 3 - July 17, 2022. Opening June 3, 7:00-9:00
by B.A. Lampman
at the Victoria Arts Council Gallery
June 3 - July 17, 2022. Opening June 3, 7:00-9:00
Detail: What is a Life?, ink on paper, one of 12 panels on 22x30 inch sheet, 2020.
Life's Work: A Visual Memoir by B.A. Lampman is a remarkable achievement. Her memoir uses several kinds of images, including comic strip panels, to tell a personal story. The story recounts a five-year journey of caring for her terminally-ill mother. Lampman’s mother suffered from Lewy Body Dementia. Symptoms include vivid hallucinations, cognitive decline, movement disorders and sleep difficulties. Lampman's mother died in January 2017. In 2018, the artist began painting and drawing the memoir in her newly-built backyard studio.
B.A. Lampman is a busy artist, who received a degree in Fine Art (with Distinction) from Concordia University. She manages an online art journal and newsletter called Feed the Monster. She writes in depth about artistic process, using wit and wisdom to leap over the hurdles of artmaking. Lampman also created a teaching tutorial for collage, which is available on her website.
B.A. Lampman is a busy artist, who received a degree in Fine Art (with Distinction) from Concordia University. She manages an online art journal and newsletter called Feed the Monster. She writes in depth about artistic process, using wit and wisdom to leap over the hurdles of artmaking. Lampman also created a teaching tutorial for collage, which is available on her website.
Tin Can Lid Incident, giclée print, 14x20 in, 2021.
|
Smoke Alarm, giclée print, 14x20 in, 2021.
|
“Life's Work: A Visual Memoir has proven to be a watershed moment for me,” she says, “both personally and artistically.” Personally, her role as primary care-giver helped resolve complex issues in their mother-daughter relationship. Artistically, she successfully experimented with a new genre (memoir comics) to unfold the story. Professionally, she envisioned a future project (graphic memoir) that would tell the complete story in more detail. This future project involves expanded text (nearly completed) and new original paintings.
You Think You’re Better Than Me, 40x78 in, 2021
|
Brava, ink on paper, 43x60 in, 2022
|
Visitors to Lampman’s show at the Victoria Arts Council Gallery will view a variety of unframed works on paper, in various sizes. All the original drawings are ink on paper. Ten of the artworks from her sketchbook and five 22x30 inch portraits are reproduced as giclée prints. Prints may be ordered at the show. There are several banners measuring over six feet in height. Some banners explain the genesis of Life’s Work with text; others sport surreal drawings and monumental figures. The banner, You Think You’re Better Than Me chronicles difficult situations from her childhood and their repercussions. The banner Brava, the third image in a triptych, celebrates inner strength. The vault space holds an installation of Lampman’s ripped-up journals.
Mom, High School Graduation 1950, ink on paper, 22x30 in, 2018.
|
Mom from the bed, ink on paper, 11x15 in, 2018
|
Lampman began doing ink on paper portraits of her mother in 2018. In 2015, she honed her ink painting skills during The 100 Day Project. For 100 days, she completed an ink on paper sketch from a book of emotive photos by Marco Anelli. Anelli’s photos feature participants at Marina Abramovic’s 2010 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. Each day, Lampman’s ink paintings were posted on social media, even the ones she deemed less-than-perfect. Completing The 100 Day Project bolstered her self-confidence. “I didn’t anticipate how much my skills would improve,” she says, “or that I would find myself painting in a new style.”
We see these skills in Mom, High School Graduation, 1950. The facial structure is delicately rendered. The gaze looks away and up, but the blue cheekbones and neck hold our attention. The mother’s auburn mane ascends into a loose wash of reddish hues. The colours have a halo-effect that expands the portrait, yet returns our gaze to the haunting face. In Mom from the Bed, the confused subject holds our attention with a fractured gaze and lined countenance. This powerful and sensitive portrait is loosely framed by washes of black ink. “I was trying to work more intuitively,” she says, “and focus less on perfection.”
Mom’s Amazing Hallucinations #1, giclée print, 22x22 in, 2020.
|
Mom’s Amazing Hallucinations #2, giclée print, 22x22 in, 2020.
|
The combination of hilarity and horror in the images creates a riveting story. Visitors will encounter some challenging subject matter, notes curator Kegan McFadden. The executive director of the Victoria Arts Council praises Betty-Ann’s bravery. “It takes courage to be self-revealing and speak the truth,” he says. McFadden calls the exhibition an immersive experience, like entering a graphic novel. The viewer is invited into the topsy-turvy world of dementia, which offers some surreal and humorous moments. “Betty-Ann’s story is personal,” he says, “but also presents a global issue.” Cognitive decline in an aging population is on the rise in many countries, but few artists are tackling the subject directly. “This makes Life’s Work an important exhibition,” he says.
What Are You Doing to Me? ink on paper, one of 12 panels on a 22x30 in sheet, 2020.
|
What is a Life?, ink on paper, one of 12 panels on 22x30 inch sheet, 2020.
|
All the text on the panels was hand-written, a time consuming project. After experimenting with a few options, bamboo bristles dipped in ink became her calligraphic tool of choice. Lampman uses concise text and simple phrases to convey her ideas. These ideas and emotions illuminate Life’s Work and show the profound ways our lives intertwine with other's.
|
Web Design and Content by Kate Cino Arts writer published in Focus on Victoria, Yam and Boulevard. History in Art degree and Public Relations certificate from the University of Victoria This website and its content is copyright of Art Openings, 2009. All rights reserved. Written permission is required for reproduction of photos or text. kate-cino@shaw.ca 250 598-4009 |
|