At. Ann's park. Photo credit: Shauna Janssen
As a part of Urban Occupations Urbaines artist Candice Ivy worked intimately with the former architectural site of Griffintownʼs St. Annʼs church. The historic site of the church is a strong signifier of Griffintownʼs past and present landscape. During its occupation, St. Annʼs represented the heart of the Irish working class community in Griffintown. With itʼs demolition, the remaining ruins have become a symbol for the cultural, political, and economic changes within the neighborhood.
Ivy’s project re-imagined the interior architectural space of St. Annʼs church.and relaized realize this by creating a series of drawings of the interior space of the church based upon both archival photographs and the rich memories and stories of St. Annʼs former community members. The final piece will took the form of a site-specific installation at the remaining foundation of St. Annʼs church, which has since become a public park.
Bio
My work explores the use of architecture and the natural terrain as strong influence in the transmission of cultural values, beliefs and philosophies. My multi-media installations are site-specific, sensually immersive, and deeply connected to the environment, unique history, and local culture I am working directly with.
I use the multi-media approach of sound, image and sculptural form to create a sensory experience for my audience. Heightening a sense of familiarity, I record and manipulate sounds found in both the community and landscape. These sounds are then layered and assimilated into an installation space, which is often built in strong relation to aspects of local architecture.
The use of sustainable and recycled materials, collected from the natural environment, is a strong theme in the construction of my installations. Drawings are also a familiar component, creating another layer of engagement as well as documenting patterns of motion.
Other immersive installations dealing with cultural relationships to landscape and architecture include “Murmur,” in the 250 year old Charleston Old City Jail for the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in SC Santa Barbara, “Black Tide” in Boston, MA and 2010’s Jordan’s Banks, at the McColl Center for Visual Art, NC.
