Carollyne Yardley presents
Becoming Plastic
at Deluge Gallery March 18 - April 16, 2022.
Opening Friday March 18, 7:00-10:00
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Contagion (detail), from the Sympoetics of Squirrealism series, gloves, armature, hair, acrylic nails. 2021. All photos on the webpage by Carollyne Yardley.

Plastic is everywhere, explains Yardley in her introduction to Becoming Plastic. “It’s in the depths of the oceans and at the highest of mountaintops,” she says. Microplastic pollution is found in all aquatic eco-systems, the stomachs of marine mammals, and in squirrel nests across North America. We breathe in microplastics and sip them in tap and bottled water.
With gusto, we consume them in milk, beer, vegetables and seafood. Plastic, invented in 1907, can take 1000 years to decompose in landfills, so it will be with us for a while.

The key concepts in Becoming Plastic are honed from Yardley’s Master of Fine Arts thesis. Her thesis was completed in 2021 at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Titled Sympoetics of Squirrealism, her thesis evolves from a well-established interdisciplinary art practice. Yardley’s Squirrealism references her squirrel/human portraits that have intrigued audiences for over a decade. She is represented by Madrona Gallery in Victoria and Fazakas Gallery in Vancouver.

Sympoetics of Squirrealism (installation view), mixed media, 18 x 8 x 2 feet. 2021.

Becoming-with (detail), from the Sympoetics of Squirrealism series, Photograph on canvas, 60x78 in, 2021.

​Yardley’s empathetic relationship with gray squirrels began when she nursed an injured squirrel in her yard and was touched by the experience. Sympoetics is a term used by feminist philosopher Donna Haraway. The word derives from sympoiesis which means “making-with”. Natalie Loveless is another artist/educator who influenced Yardley. Her book, How to Make Art at the End of the World: A Manifesto for Research-Creation describes how everything we touch and are touched by, participates in becoming something new. Other researchers describe sympoetics as a way of "making" that assembles new thoughts for healing damaged human and non-human lives and eco-systems.

Contagion (detail), from the Sympoetics of Squirrealism series, gloves, armature, hair, acrylic nails. 2021.

Sympoiesis, pigment on canvas, 60x46 in, 2021.

​Becoming Plastic employs three-dimensional assemblages and large-scale photographs to explore a hybrid world of human-and-other, tightly secured by sterile blue nitrile gloves. “The blue gloves reference the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Yardley, “and also act as a hand’s double and uncanny object of my creative outputs.” The gloves have bizarre additions of hair growing from nails and skin that create an eerie atmosphere. Possible issues emerge: contaminants, cross-species infections, and how humans and non-humans are reshaping evolution and environments. “These imagined body parts pose a question for viewers,” says Yardley. “What is the potential for these foraged materials to intermingle and reassemble into newly-evolved species?”

Molecular (front and right view), from the Symbiogenesis series, found objects, 17 x 10 x 8 inches, 2020.

Plastivore, from the Symbiogenesis series, mixed media, hair, bedsprings, gloves. 37 x 39 x 8 inches, 2020.

​Symbiogenesis describes the formation of a new organism through the merging of two or more free-living organisms. Operating at the cellular level, this becoming-with challenges Darwin’s competition model for evolutionary change. In Symbiogenesis and Levelling the Hierarchy, Yardley takes issue with Aristotelian theology that proposes a hierarchal universe with God at the top, followed by man, lesser creatures and plants. “Humans are animals,” she says, “the western model overlooks how multi-species communities can shape-shift and merge." 

Plastivores belong to a group of around 50 organisms that use plastic as a primary energy source. Included are insects like the waxworm, bacteria and fungi. Yardley’s Plastivore makes a visual impact with its size and content. The soft flowing human hair contrasts with the intertwined rusty bed springs. The trailing blue plastic fibres suggest root systems or neural conductors in the human body.

Levelling the Hierarchy (detail) from the Symbiogenesis series, foraged materials, 36x36 in, 2020

Levelling the Hierarchy from the Symbiogenesis series, foraged materials on a tondo wood panel, 36x36 in, 2020

​Gray squirrels are synanthropes, one of several species often called pests, who live in close proximity to humans habitations. Yardley’s alliance with gray squirrels included channelling their behaviours such as foraging and caching. In Levelling the Hierarchy, Yardley displays the organic and non-organic items foraged under trees inhabited by squirrels. The collected goods became part of her art-making experiments - learning by doing. By weaving together the materials her intuitive connections with the components made them into something new.

Rituals of Care (detail), from the Sympoetics of Squirrealism series, installation with barrel, seedling, gloves, acrylic nails, 2021.

​For Rituals of Care, Yardley sprouted Garry Oak seedlings in an earth-filled bucket. Working with acorns alerted Yardley to the precipitous decline in Garry oak ecosystems. In the Pacific Northwest less than 5 percent remain. Plus it takes over 35 years for a Garry oak to produce acorns. “Grey squirrels need mature nut or seed-bearing trees,” says Yardley. “I have become passionate about saving the remaining Garry oak trees in cityscapes.

​Yardley’s MFA research began by asking what gray squirrels can teach us about supposed boundaries between species. Her original question evolved into exploring the mysterious nature of molecular energy, our interactions with each other and the environment. Yardley credits her excellent advisors at Emily Carr with expanding her horizons. Her MFA art research has been published in two international journals of arts and humanities. In future, Yardley plans to continue her research by critiquing how humans and non-humans may co-adapt in urban environments.
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​Carollyne's opening at Deluge Gallery on March 18 was a fun event. Many people attended and enjoyed a mostly-unmasked get together. Carollyne's ingenuity and talent were much appreciated.
​And a few furry fingers sold!
 
​Carollyne Yardley welcomes your interest.
​Visit her website here

​Deluge Gallery, 636 Yates St, Victoria, BC V8W 1L3.  Hours: Wednesday - Saturday  12:00-5:00

​​​​​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
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