DEVON KNOWLES

“In my practice I consider a materials history and its economic and social settings along with processes which surround it. All of the materials I use begin with this type of investigation and in developing a response to a site for public art, I consider the area, what is present on it, who uses it (past, present and future) and this becomes equally as important to inform my material choices. For me the revealed language held in both the materials and site - visual, verbal, written and experiential - establishes an intimacy directly between the physical material, how it is used and its history within the site. Where these languages and forms of research collide is the place that I produce works from, with an intimate knowledge and informed reasoning for their applications.

I started this project, Walking Spectrum, by taking the map provided to the artists of the 2-minute walking radius from the site and followed the general shape of the map to photo document the area. In sampling colours, textures and shapes that presented themselves in the images a layout began that developed out of this walk and selection process. The newly developed pattern is one that stories walking the neighbourhood with visuals from a pedestrian point of view.

These sampled sections moved left to right, up and down to mimic the aim of the camera, allowing for the location of the sky, down to the street remain intact. In a way, these colours represent the story of the city at the very moment it was recorded in 2016, buildings go up and come down, materials change, leaves fall, signage and lights change, etc. This digital collage then becomes the subject for photographing but that creates a further fracturing of the image.

The choice to have the image hand painted rather than digitally replicated, is to draw out a warmth from the process; a soft geometry to measure against the crisp geometry that surrounds it in the predominant built environment. This sensibility is central to my practice, as I work with materials and processes closely and with intention.

The work will be accessible for day and night views with natural daylight and with the additional lighting that will wash down each glass panel and bounce up from the water feature at night. Walking Spectrum will anchor the space and site, invite a closer look using colour, texture, transparencies, arrayed patterns as it maps the visual story found in the city’s time of transition.”

—Devon Knowles, 2021

Devon Knowles lives and works in Vancouver, Canada which is located on the traditional territory of the Coast Salish peoples of the Pacific North West. Knowles has a material centered practice that considers the production methods of both materials and objects and how together they influence and form the language that surrounds them. Her sculpture, installation, public and two dimensional work expands on these subjects but is not limited to them. She is represented by Equinox Gallery, Vancouver, BC and is faculty at Langara College, snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓.