Previous AA2A Artist

Ehryn Torrell

Year:
2009-10
Project summary:

I am a Canadian visual artist working mainly in painting and drawing. My current work comes from recent travel to China. This is a body of work that I began in March 2009 and will continue through 2010. Through visual documentation and research based in various Chinese cities, I have been investigating visual similarities between places undergoing urbanization and those struck by natural or man-made catastrophes. My work is created through improvised composites – from photographs and video clips I’ve taken, my immediate environment, my knowledge of perspective and pictorial space and, most importantly, my imagination. I aim to create images that evoke wonder, that involve and implicate the viewer through the enticement of built space that breaks from the two-dimensional picture plane and into the lived reality of the viewer.

I am excited about the opportunity to work with the faculty, students and facilities at London Metropolitan University. As I have recently moved to the UK, the opportunity to work within an art department is extremely beneficial to my transition, providing me with the equipment, facilities, technical support, and community I need to fully participate as an artist in London. Having access to a wide variety of facilities, including sculpture, multi-media and printmaking labs, will enable me to push my artistic practice beyond two-dimensional methods. The woodworking facilities will allow me to build large-scale stretchers and experiment with sculptural forms. Moreover, I find that working with a university is inspiring and it is a place to which I know I contribute. It is my aim to foster exchange, share knowledge and working practicies, and to fully engage with the art department as much as possible. I look forward to meeting students and faculty, having studio visits, giving demonstrations, and sharing my experiences as a practising visual artist.