Second Life
Jane Derby – 2011
Finding inspiration in cast off or undervalued objects, Kingston-based artist Jane Derby transforms them and grants them a second life. Wrestling with the limitations of lowly, everyday materials, such as empty soup cans one would usually put in the recycling, Derby pushes their physical properties to the point of transcendence.
Artist Statement
“I am one of many contemporary artists who are finding inspiration in cast off and undervalued objects, granting them a kind of second life. The artist wrestles with the limitations of these everyday materials, pushing their natural abilities to a point of transcendence, ideally, turning “dross into gold.” Meaning is created in the tension between the familiar and its recontextualization in unfamiliar ways. The surface textures of the natural world fascinate me, and, for the same reason, I am attracted to the physical properties of the discarded objects I select. Previously I have worked with lath and found objects, imbedding these in plaster. My current series reflects my experimentation with the cans found in kitchen cupboards. The beauty of these, hidden under their commercial wrappers, has always appealed to me, and this work is an attempt to push the natural aesthetics of the object into new territories. On a personal level, I find an equivalence between the ridges of the tin cans and their light reflecting properties, and the textural surfaces of the land around Kingston. My aim is to translate this visual pleasure into my reliefs.” – Jane Derby
About the Artist
Jane Derby—
From Jane’s website:
“Since graduating from OCAD in 2007, Jane Derby has been creating sculptural paintings out of salvaged materials, cast-offs from contemporary living. Lath, (taken from older homes where the lath and plaster walls are being replaced by drywall), tin cans, computer chips, egg cartons and wires are all materials that make an appearance in her work. These are combined with canvas or embedded in plaster, painted in oils, and then gouged and distressed to create three-dimensional wall hung reliefs. She sees these as “literal landscapes” recreating the surface textures of the countryside around Kingston where she lives and works. It is a roughhewn landscape made up of rock outcroppings, greying barns, water and grasses. Although her work is more curiosity than message driven, the recycled materials lend themselves to an implied critique of our current environmental practices, and she sees herself as part of the growing movement in contemporary art that uses “trash” as material for art making.
Since beginning her full-time practice ten years ago, she has exhibited extensively in solo and group shows in Kingston, Toronto and Eastern Ontario, and her work is in collections in Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Germany. She has won awards, including the Environmental Spirit Award from the Recycling Council of Ontario. She is past president of the Organization of Kingston Women Artists, and has curated and juried a number of exhibitions in Kingston and Brockville.”