Image: Kristopher Karklin with Routine Reconstruction Installation at Skew Gallery, Calgary, AB
Routine Reconstruction
Kristopher Karklin
June 17 – July 27, 2010
Opening reception: June 17 th , 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Artist in attendance
Skew Gallery is pleased to announce the solo debut of Kristopher Karklin's photographic art. Routine Reconstruction exhibits eight photographs created in 2009/08 that explore the artifice of both memory and photography. Karklin's ongoing investigation into the minds ability to manipulate memory of tangible events experienced by adding and subtracting details to our intangible memories of an occasion, are translated through the use of photography. Forgoing photography's traditional objective of capturing an exact moment for posterity, Karklin employs the medium as a tool to recreate a memory where details are distilled, altered in scale, or colours manipulated based on the deconstruction and reconstruction of the minds continuous recount of the conditions of an event.
In the tradition of artists such as Thomas Demand or Diana Thorneycroft, Karklin skillfully and with meticulous precision begins his artistic process by constructing miniature models. Karklin's dioramas depict the environments of his selected experiences, as filtered through his memories. These dioramas are then illuminated accordingly and photographed. The introduction of the photographed figure completes the narrative. The work selected for this exhibition explores notions of isolation, displacement, identity, and the relationship between the urban living space and its occupant, where the exchange that occurs is intimate and secure; it is also temporary and homogenous.
In 2007, Kristopher Karklin graduated from the Alberta College of Art and Design with a BFA with distinction. His work has exhibited in Kyoto, Japan at the University of Arts in 2009, as well as exhibitions across Alberta. He is the recipient of several awards and scholarships including the Board of Governors in 2007, the Jason Lang Scholarship for two consecutive years, and the National In-Course Millennium Scholarship in 2005. His work has been collected by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Routine Reconstruction at Skew Gallery marks Karklin's first exhibition in a commercial gallery. Karklin currently balances a studio practice between Fort McMurray where he is exploring the culture and displacement surrounding industry "work camps" and Calgary, Alberta.
