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 A Journal of Discovery, Creativity, and Innovation at the University of Saskatchewan |
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A Journal of Discovery, Creativity, and Innovation at the University of Saskatchewan |
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By Susan Shantz
Click here to watch a video profile of Susan Shantz discussing her work on the Canopy project.
Canopy, an exhibition of artwork by U of S art professor Susan Shantz,
was shown at the Mendel Art Gallery in 2006/07. Shantz began work
on this labour-intensive project in 2003 during a residency at Boréal Art/
Nature in Quebec.
The room-sized floating canopy (shown here: 2.85 x 4 m.) uses
manufactured versions of nature—synthetic leaves, laminated wood
flooring—to point to the ways in which we long for nature in our daily
lives but also turn it into something consumable.
In making floating canopy, Shantz sewed thousands of leaves from
fabric and then suspended them by monofilament so they floated at
knee-height, like leaves on water.
The care Shantz takes in making her work reveals her desire for the
ideals represented by nature, while her choice of materials and images
acknowledges the ways in which those ideas are always informed by
cultural practices and perceptions.
Shantz has received grants from funding agencies, including the Canada
Council for the Arts and the Saskatchewan Arts Board. She has exhibited
widely both nationally and internationally and her work is in public and
private collections.
