Jim Stamper Review of Equinox Exhibition at Dynamo Gallery \ = | ed . fab a -_ « = F % os fe ES ai aj = w panel > a = - of om a ema & = = ‘s Re * * 7 - . Se So oe & & = + * - tl — ; . i | * s —* an a Jim Stamper Winger (detail) 2001, sioneware, Plastic bags Man versus nature, noture versus man, man versa man: | have remembered these themes since grade school. Little did 1 realize then that this simple statement would so eloquently yet frankly articulate humanity's desire to understand the world ~ and nature — around it; little did I realize the pervasiveness of this slatement across all forms of art. When I saw Jim Stamper’s first solo show, Equinox, at Dynamo late last fall, | was initially struck by its simplicity then, by its layers. In his artist statement Stamper says, “The tithe Equine: was chosen torepresent the balance that we as species are continu- ously striving to achieve, both in our im- pact on the planet and our emotional con- dition when thinking about that impact.” He goes on to say, “The concept of seasons as beginning and ending on particular days isa human creation that distorts the way that we view the analog way of nature.” The show's essential medium was clay. Yet Stamper not only managed to mould effectively this orgamie medium to repee- sent the relation between nature and humanity, bat the space and arrange- ment of the four sections in a room of calm white with wood floors served to subtly underline the component of simplic- ity. The final element that bound it tozether, that added the complex- 4 ity of the relationship between humanity and nature were the titles and phrases, those things essentially human that we use to describe, to capture what we so desper- ately want to understand. On the surface Stamper used common images like leaves, grass, icons of food — com and fish —to connect us tothe seasons, Spring was depicted in three duplicate organic sculptures comprised of com-on- the-oabs, fishes and flowers presented like: alinear horn-of-plenty. Three rows of nine ceramic fod squares oov- ered with fresh grass repre- sented Summer. Hundreds of ceramic brown leaves Tuined down on one wail for Autumn. Shards lay crunched on the floor be- low as if they had been blown there by another force of nature. Next door, pinned tothe adjacent wall, was Winter, white leaves zippered in plastic freezer bags. Of the four depic- tions it was Winter with the saying, “What are we saving for’ that said so much about humanity's struggle with balance in ma- ture. Ever since we uttered the word “ugh” it seems as if we have struggled to explain andunderstand not just our place in mature, but our urge to control it, From creation stories that give humanity dominion over nature to the Victorians” endeavour to capture nature in walled gardens and con- structed mazes of hedges to mexiern hu- manity’s continuous preoccupation with predicting the weather, we have toiled to understand this elemental relationship. qHuEadg Ita oF eT | i mj Potters Guild of British Columbia Newsletter Above: Jim Siaumper Young Klan (artist) lopking at Soriee 20001, stoneware and mixed tedia Lett: Jim Stamper Fall 2001, stoneware Stamper displays the incongruities between humanity and nature in his Spring, which is accompanied by the phrase “Can feed a family of 2.5." We think we have constructed our world so succinctly around nature that we can pre- dict what it will yield. However, we need only to recall watching the weather chan- nel and seeing last summer's drought on the Prairies to know this is not so. At the end of his artist statement, Stamper mentions that “perfect balances” do exist. Perhaps this is best typified by Summer's “How long are the days?" A time when we only think about being out in nature, lying on the grass looking up at the sky and wishing it could be this simple always. Christine Conrey Jim's extibition Equinox was shown last Ootober $21, 200, at the Dyeame Gallery, (32 Wee Hastings in Vancouver Jim Stamper Swnmer D001, sioneware, live erass February 2002