“Line Garden” by Coryn Kempster and Julia Jamrozik was installed as part of the 15th International Garden Festival, which runs until September 28th, 2014 at the Jardins de Métis / Reford Gardens in Grand-Métis, Quebec, Canada.
Drawing on the formal language of historical garden design, and the contemporary means of mass-produced safety and construction materials, the project is a strong graphic intervention that aims to produce an abstract field. Defining a geometric zone out of tightly spaced parallel lines of stretched commercial barrier tape, the installation introduces ordered man-made elements into the cultivated natural environment of the Gardens. Through this juxtaposition a dialogue between the two spheres is created, based on the shared theme of protection and necessary safe-guarding, while questioning the definition of what is truly natural.
As one approaches and then walks around and through the installation, the changing viewpoint will allow for the shifting of the tape lines in space and thus varied views of the overall composition. Further the movement of the lines with the changing of the climate, the wind and sun will ensure a dynamic optical and auditory engagement for the audience. As visitors enter and inhabit the space by occupying the provided custom-designed loungers, the fluctuating appearance of the installation is further enhanced.
Julia Jamrozik and Coryn Kempster have been collaborating since 2003. Through installations, drawings, video, and architecture, they investigate everyday situations and re-present them to be experienced anew. They are interested in the public realm and in the way that individuals and groups use space, both inside and outside.
Working through a process of analysis and discovery, they synthesize research, ideas and personal experiences and aim to imagine and realize artworks that focus on the specificity of place and context, while simultaneously questioning assumptions about them. Ultimately, they endeavour to create objects, spaces and situations that interrupt the ordinary in a critically engaging and playful way.
