5 - The New Gallery (TNG), Calgary - NO PLAN IS AN ISLAND

MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
April 22, 2011

media contact: Tim Westbury
tim@thenewgallery.org
403.233.2399

NO PLAN IS AN ISLAND
Photographic series about suburbia raise questions about contemporary land-use policy

Calgary - April 22, 2011 - At 746 square kilometers, Calgary occupies almost the same amount of land as the five boroughs of New York City - yet it supports only one tenth of the population. As the era of cheap, easily accessible fossil fuel reaches its apogee, the limitations of the post-WWII suburban growth model embraced by many North American cities become more pronounced. In the summer of 2006, artist Jeremy Drummond embarked on a road trip throughout much of North America to capture photographic source material for future projects. After returning home to Brampton, ON, he chose to leave all this new material aside and opted instead to use satellite photography and digital imaging technologies. The resulting series, 65-Point Plan for Sustainable Living, is a collection of sixty-five aerial photos of every Canadian province and US state, each one depicting a single housing subdivision that has been digitally reconstructed into an enclosed geographical space, with no roads leading either in or out. At TNG this will be accompanied by a second photo series, entitled Grave Architecture depicting incomplete, foreclosed and abandoned subdivisions. Highlighting virtual exploration as one form of contemporary experience, Drummond is interested in the collapse of space and time as an extension of physical experiences associated with older forms of mechanized travel – particularly the automobile.

Jeremy Drummond is a Canadian artist and curator currently living and working in Richmond, VA, USA. In 1999, he received a BFA in Studio Arts from the University of Western Ontario and in 2003, a MFA in Art Media Studies from Syracuse University. His work has been exhibited widely in festivals, galleries and museums throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Recent exhibitions include Cambridge Galleries (Cambridge, ON), Eyelevel Gallery (Halifax, NS), Arlington Arts Center (Arlington, VA) and Maryland Art Place (Baltimore, MD). Since 2001, he has also curated close to 50 programs of independent video for festivals, galleries and museums throughout North America and Europe.

The New Gallery is pleased to present the exhibitions: 65-Point Plan for Sustainable Living and Grave Architecture by Jeremy Drummond,
from Thursday May 5 through Saturday June 11, 2011 at #212, Art Central, 100 - 7th Avenue SW.

A public reception will be held on First Thursday May 5, 2011, starting at 5 PM.

The New Gallery (TNG) is an artist-run centre exhibiting innovative emerging and lesser-known artists whose work contributes to social and political discourse; artistic education and community outreach are as important as presentation. TNG encourages a broad range of practices and critical discussion around contemporary visual, media and performative arts. Currently in it’s 36th year as a charitable non-profit society, TNG is an active, open and responsive public forum for the arts. TNG is grateful for the ongoing support of its members, volunteers, Calgary Arts Development, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and The Canada Council for the Arts. www.thenewgallery.org

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If you’d like additional information, images or to schedule an interview with the artist, please contact:
Tim Westbury, TNG Programming Director, at 403.233.2399 or email tim@thenewgallery.org