Souvenir / Lifeguard
Jeffrey B. Childs – 2015
As the artist writes, “Rocks and driftwood are cast from specimens collected at various beaches as well as a section of dock made of wood which allows the viewer/participant a raised view of the work as if a lifeguard.”
Utilizing a mix of earthenware, natural materials, audio and digital video, Jeffrey B. Childs’ Souvenir/Lifeguard explores the fragility of place and progress. Amongst a life-size section of a shoreline are sculpted waves, rocks, driftwood and a lifeguard tower. As the artist writes, “Rocks and driftwood are cast from specimens collected at various beaches as well as a section of dock made of wood which allows the viewer/participant a raised view of the work as if a lifeguard.”
Accompanying this immersive installation is a new electro-acoustic audio piece titled Paradise Lost, and a selection of One Hundred and Forty Faces, a series of ceramic faces that act as “guardians of the waves”. Souvenir/ Lifeguard is the latest in a continuing series of interactive, multi-media installations examining the
changing environment that the artist has developed over the years.
About the Artist
Jeffrey B. Childs—
Jeffrey B. Childs is an artist based in Kingston. His eclectic work has been exhibited regionally, nationally and internationally throughout the past thirty years. He was co-founder/director of the celebrated Millennium Project and has won numerous commissions, including the MacDonald Cartier buildings “Tip Of The Iceberg” and the Mount Pleasant Cemetery Ewart Chapel piece “Eternal Life Cycles” in Toronto. His work is included in the archives of the National Gallery of Canada as well as several public and private collections. Childs is a founding member/director of the Kingston Artists’ Association Incorporated (Modern Fuel).