LYNNE HELLER’S ‘really [this show is rented]’
PREMIERES NOVEMBER 21
AT THE REDHEAD GALLERY IN TORONTO -- 401 Richmond St. W.
Lynne Heller enjoys the best of both worlds. In one life, she is a gifted multi-media artist, living in Toronto. In SECOND LIFE, an Internet-based virtual world, she is Nar Duell, a character or ‘avatar’ Heller created as a ‘resident’ of SECOND LIFE.
Beginning November 21, Heller and her intrepid avatar Nar Duell will construct a mixed reality installation at the Redhead Gallery. SECOND LIFE, the three-dimensional animated world, will face off with ‘first life’ – also known as the real world.
Everything in SECOND LIFE is garish, bright and two-dimensional. It’s a world built out of algorithms and fuzzy imported j-pegs. Nature clashes in the ironically flat 3D universe where trees are two-dimensional images intersecting at right angles to simulate the lushness of leaves.
A ‘garden’ in a SECOND LIFE gallery will be projected onto the walls of the Redhead Gallery. Visitors will be able to watch Nar Duell tend her SECOND LIFE ‘garden’ in real time. At the same time, Heller will tend plants in a live garden at The Redhead Gallery. Webcams will capture the action and, in a reiterative loop, video of gallery visitors will be streamed into SECOND LIFE to play on a wall in the SECOND LIFE gallery, also in real time.
James Elkins, the E.C. Chadbourne Chair, department of Art History, Theory and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, says Heller “could be the one per cent or less than one per cent using SECOND LIFE this way. What is being done in these environments is new and doesn’t behave the way people expect art to behave.”
Heller’s interest in examining disparity is captured in ‘really’: “On the one hand, there are our desires and yearnings; on the other, reality. And in between there is a wide gap filled with our very human day-to-day struggles while we live, work, and play. Dreams and reality bumping up against each other… in odd juxtapositions, quirky coincidence and endearing fumbles. My current work reflects my interest in exploring our adaptation as we wander around – mostly lost – improvising in this rocky terrain. I love contemplating our humanity and finding beauty amongst the modest, ‘overfamiliar’ artifacts of our culture.” Her website: www.lynneheller.com/really
An artist and designer, Heller works in a number of disciplines. Principally known for her work in fibre, she has also created new media pieces, sound, websites and installations. She completed her MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2004. Group exhibitions include: The Stray Show (Art Chicago), Wide Borders: Heller, Roy &Thiessen (Burlington Art Centre, Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery in Owen Sound, Cambridge Library and Gallery). Solo exhibitions have been shown nationally and internationally in Havana, Chicago and Santa Fe.
really [this show is rented] runs from November 21 to December 15, with a reception on December 1, from noon to 5 p.m. Heller and Nar Duell will be present at the Redhead Gallery and the SECOND LIFE gallery throughout the show. The Redhead Gallery is located at 401 Richmond Street West in Toronto. Exhibition hours: Wednesday to Saturday, noon – 5 p.m.
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