Artists Mia + Eric invite us to explore In a Strange Place, their expansive, nine-channel video installation on display in the upper loft gallery at Contemporary Calgary.
A paired soundscape designed by Kris Demeanor refrains and sustains in a cyclical dance. Textures range from deep thunder-like bass to simple keys and discordant strings. The audible aura underscores a tension of primal power tied to our present and future. “Sink into the feeling of the forest, sink into the future of the forest,” the work intones.
You will be confronted by future forest creatures. They are “something that is not quite human, something that’s not quite animal, that’s not quite plant,” says the accompanying text.
“Somebody once described them to us as ‘reverse anthropomorphic,’ and we quite like that idea,” says the artist team Mia + Eric.
The work is a product of the artists’ long-developed relationships and conversations with individuals connected to the forest, including ecologists, foresters, archivists, conservationists, hunters, activists, and hobbyists. “In a Strange Place is about the future of our forests and addresses major themes like the biodiversity crisis, the climate crisis, and the crisis of community.”
In conversation, it’s clear Mia + Eric value the relationships they have built in the process of their art. “We try to do research, create networks and then feed back what we’re hearing from the communities to the communities in the form of artworks,” they say of their work.
The work is intentionally abstract. “To facilitate a dialogue, we asked the performers to translate their care work into slow, improvised and abstract dances.”
Accompanying the video installation In a Strange Place, This Planted Place is a short film produced by the artists that offers insight into where some of their ideas take root.
The film takes place in a planned agroforest called the Heidewald. It is the largest planned and planted black locust forest north of the Alps. Black locust is a tree species with high commercial value, but it is also highly invasive in the area and, therefore, a threat to biodiversity.
Black locust grows rapidly, is resilient in a variety of soil types, and roots aggressively, making it an excellent choice for erosion control. The wood is durable and rot-resistant, making it ideal for many industrial uses, including furniture, flooring, and water crafts. As a fuel for wood-burning stoves, it burns slowly, even when wet, with little flame or smoke and a high heat yield.
Yet the Heidewald also supports meadows of rare grasses and wildflowers and provides honeybees with a plentiful source of nectar, which produces the much-desired acacia honey.
Clearly, there is more at work than meets the eye.
Mia + Eric offer further reflection that the work is about “thinking about interspecies relationships ‘what is our role and our responsibilities to other creatures that we are neighbours with, and that we live alongside, and that we can’t live without.’”
In a Strange Place loops every 2 hours and 12 minutes between the nine channels that fade in and out. This offers approximately 18 hours of content, likely far more than we might digest individually.
This Planted Place runs 25 minutes and will screen in a loop in the Heather Edwards Auditorium at Contemporary Calgary throughout the day on January 5, 26, and February 9.
Admission is included with admission to the gallery on those days.
In a Strange Place is on at Contemporary Calgary until February 9. For more information, visit contemporarycalgary.com
In the Galleries Now
Philip Murray Bandura: Glass Daydreams — a glass and mixed media sculpture exhibition
One of the founding members of the now-disbanded Bee Kingdom collective, Bandura’s exuberant work explores material and ideas with humour and beauty. This show includes work from many of Bandura’s series, including Shiny Shit, Is Glass Queer, or Is It Just Me? and Wildland Rocket.
Until January 18, Christine Klassen Gallery
Knowledge made Concrete: 100 years of teaching and collecting
AuArts and the AGA celebrate each other’s centennials (in 2026 and 2024, respectively) with this exhibition, one of several organized by the AGA.
January 17 until March 8, Illingworth Kerr Gallery
Innovative Threads: Contemporary Weaving
This Alberta Craft national exhibit features the work of 21 craft artists from across the country and explores a variety of weaving techniques and approaches.
January 25 to April 12, Alberta Craft Council Gallery at cSpace Marda Loop
Opening reception February 1, 2 to 4 p.m.