The Promise of Structure

Rick Leong creates fantasy worlds that engage the viewer with an appealing array of fantasy characters dwelling in chaotic alien worlds. His worlds, often influenced by the narrative traditions of other cultures, locate hybridized flora and fauna that intermingle and create their own interconnections. The narrative nature of his work is often concerned with the effects of environment on the emotional state of his characters.

Ian Campbell's "Schematics" series consist of dense networks of gestural ink lines that suggest any number of descriptive materials (fire, hair, water). The underlying conceptual link, however is meant to be that of the electronic schematic, where the lines form structural links between distinct gestural "components" of an unending complexity.

The digital prints of James McDougall underline his concern with another set of interacting parts: biological organisms. The colourful blobs and hand drawn geometries conjure up entities whose structures are interdependent. Despite the autonomy of the forms, McDougall's hand is clearly evident in this set of works even through the veils of computer manipulation that modify and extend his vision.

Charles Stankievech is interested in creating installations that demonstrate the physicality of sound. Hyperventilation is a piece that is about sound and whose main effect is created by soundwaves, and yet it remains completely silent. Low frequency sound waves are used to create a manifestation of breathing that through its technological source retains a sense of the uncanny.