In The Sunroom: Deep Cuts (original) (raw)

On display from August 11 to September 21, 2024 in The Sunroom at Central Library, opens a new window, Deep Cuts.

About the exhibit

“Deep Cuts is a series of works created from the need to physically, emotionally and spiritually remove grief from myself after the tragic loss of my father in 2014, and my mother and grandmother within six weeks of each other in 2023 to cancer.”

“The layering of papers is meant to symbolize the moments, memories, teachings and skills passed on in the creation of a sense of self and safety through familial ties. The deep cuts, carvings, hacks and slices represent the physical release of grief on the medium of paper, the anger, frustration and deep changes it has made to my layers to suffer these losses. The motif of a home is seen throughout as a symbol of both family, a place of security, and strength and serves as a reminder that we remain whole beings no matter how many ‘deep cuts’ we experience.”

About the artist

Rhonda Barrett is an artist from Newfoundland, currently living in Nova Scotia, whose study of paper and Japanese arts finds her working in either a chigiri-e style with newsprint or a very loose and playful way with collected ephemera. The waste-not-want-not lifestyle and nostalgia of her resourceful maritime upbringing is paramount in her choice of mediums, and informs much of the art she creates. The use of newspaper as her primary medium is a nod to the ephemeral arts, frugality, and our ideas of material value. She works out of her collage and assemblage gallery, Cuts and Paste Gallery, in Halifax, NS.

Rhonda has a background in architecture and design; but left that career in 2014 to pursue her artistic calling. She is currently a member of Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS), and The Paper Artist Collective (UK). She also created the Canadian Collage Collective in 2020 to support, find and document the work of collage artists in Canada. Her work has been seen in solo exhibitions and group exhibitions in numerous galleries in Nova Scotia and across Canada, as well as group exhibitions in the United States. She has been featured in local Halifax newspapers, on Global Halifax News Morning and CBC Radio. Her work has been published with Kolaj Magazine, Contemporary Collage Magazine, Murze Magazine, and Urban Ivy in their Mother’s in Time series.

Visit her Instagram, opens a new window to learn more.

Please join us for a reception

Wednesday, August 15 | 6:00-8:00pm
The Sunroom | Floor 5
Halifax Central Library

We hope you will join us to celebrate creativity, embrace curiosity, and be inspired by budding and celebrated artists from our community.

The Sunroom is made possible by the generosity of Margot and Layne Spafford.