Coast Reporter Review
of finding animus

Gibsons Public Art Gallery (GPAG) is pleased to present March 30 – April 30.
KITTY BLANDY | Finding Animus (mixed media)
In Finding Animus Vancouver artist Kitty Blandy addresses how it feels to be animal, and the empathic actions that may result. Blandy presents several series of mixed media artwork in 2D and 3D. Using drawing and sculpture as means of translation, the works in this exhibition have as much to do with being in, as looking at a body.
By presenting bodies both recognizable and ambiguous, and as sites of sensation, Blandy invites viewers to recognize our shared animality, vulnerability, and existence. Blandy also aims to engage with the local community and think about the impact we have on this place, where the natural flora and fauna retain their primacy.
Blandy has shown her work extensively in solo and collaborative exhibitions throughout Canada as well as in the United Kingdom. Her work is held in private and public collections in Canada, the United Kingdom, Malta and Ukraine.

|https://thebcreview.ca/2023/03/05/1741-blandy-susan-elizabeth/|The BC Review

two forms

September 10 – October 10, 2021

Sunshine Coast Arts Council
5714 Medusa Street
Sechelt, BC V0N 3A3

Covid-19 pathway project

franc gallery

1654 Franklin Street
Vancouver, BC V5L 1P4

An exhibition of new work.

Gibraltar Point, Toronto Island, Ontario, Canada
Luminous Bodies is a thematic two-week residency exploring heterogeneous human bodies.
October 2017

Primate sympathy I
Alternatives Journal
2016
Article by Linda Nowlan on how "artists are confronting the world as it is, was and could be". In this article Nowlan looks at the work of 10 artists whose work comments on species extinction, including Andy Warhol, Gavin Turk, Maya Lin, Todd McGrain, Kitty Blandy and others.

Bjornson Blandy Carter Collective : Verses
Initial Gallery
June 18 - July 18 2015

Early in 2014, we proposed an exhibition of “finished” works in conjunction with pieces recorded during production that may not appear in a “final” image. We recognized that moments occur as we work through our process that may be uniquely developed, fragmented and embellished. The results express past and present “verses’, and are intended to be experienced as separate, albeit related, pieces.

Verses is a continuation of our collective activity. This exhibition was preceded by solo exhibitions of our individual practices. Each show offered insight to the elements that are evident in the collective collaborations, often elusive but present nonetheless, leaving high-energy constructs with many fatalities and injuries. We work within shapes and textures that are only partly our own choice.

By this method we continue to carry on the silent dialogue, weaving together our individual observations, syntheses and responses to existence.

Working collectively part II

We have been working together for approximately five years. The process of our collaborating, through addition and editing, is a silent dialogue, a form of call and response. Michael refers to this dialogue as “conversation”; the drawings are visual conversations among the three of us with implications of narrative that evolve through the duration of the work. Our starting point may be something quite modest that acts as an instrument that will evoke a response (rock, paper, scissors), composed on several planes simultaneously.

Away from the drawing surface our verbal discourse often revolves around contemporary socio/political issues and popular culture. At times, the discussion will migrate to a point where “looking through and looking at” becomes relevant. These “aloud” conversations remain present as we shift to our visual language, sliding into our “silent” discourse.

Each endeavour is like a first date with the promise of the challenging unknown, yet with the prospect of a fruitful union. Our comfort level starts tentatively and matures, becoming more like a marriage, sometimes to the point where it is difficult to complete the work without the participation of all. Geoff likens the experience to choreography; at times are drawings are literally climbing on top of each other to reach the spot light.

The chronicle of a piece is seldom evident to the viewer. Layers of drawings may have been submerged as parts of the ongoing conversation. Sometimes the surface returns to a blank state, an intake of breath, before we renew the dialogue. The formal considerations of the works are addressed en masse in a form of critique with consensus when changes or eliminations need to be made.

The tension that is present in the work perhaps comes from the pause when the decision is made whether to continue the conversation or to stop it.

Michael Bjornson
Kitty Blandy
Geoff Carter
commentary from Alex Waterhouse-Hayward

Kitty Blandy: Hands and Teeth

Initial Gallery
2339 Granville Street
Vancouver BC

March 27th - April 5th 2014

Photographs examining modeled hands and teeth explore disassembled body parts as tools and symbols: both devices of communication, survival and weaponry. Using wood, plastics and plaster, Blandy narrates a dialogue between the hard and soft tissues of the body by creating sculptural pieces of hands and teeth then photographing these pieces in specific arrangements. The images contrast the precise and orderly with the contortioned and malleable interplay between hard and soft structure of the hands, teeth and mouth. Observing the empirical and conjectural presentations of the hand and mouth describe the complex relationship of body and individual. The striking aesthetic of the photography has an aseptic glamour that is unique and compelling; demonstrating the precision of the sculptor and the artist's ability to communicate across media.

Collaborative and Individual Drawings
1727 West Third Avenue

Exhibition of Collaborative works by Michael Bjornson, Geoff carter and Kitty Blandy.


"We have been working together for approximately two years. The process of our collaborating, through addition and editing is a silent dialogue, a form of call and response. Michael refers to this dialogue as “conversation”; the drawings are visual conversations between the three of us with implications of narrative that evolve through the duration of the work. Our starting point may be something quite modest that acts as an instrument that will evoke a response.

Away from the drawing surface our verbal discourse often revolves around contemporary socio/political issues and popular culture. At times, the discussion will migrate to a point where “looking through and looking at” becomes relevant. These “aloud” conversations remain present as we shift to our visual language, sliding into our “silent” discourse.

Each endeavor is like a first date with the promise of the challenging unknown yet with the prospect of a fruitful union. Our comfort level starts tentatively and matures, becoming more like a marriage, sometimes to the point where it is difficult to complete the work without the participation of all. Geoff likens the experience to choreography; at times we are literally climbing on top of each other to reach the right spot.

The chronicle of a piece is seldom evident to the viewer. Layers of drawings may have been submerged as a part of the ongoing conversation. Sometimes the surface returns to a blank state, an intake of breath, before we renew the dialogue. The formal considerations of the works are addressed en masse in a form of critique with consensus when changes or eliminations need to be made.

The tension that is present in the work perhaps comes from the pause where the decision is made whether to continue the conversation or to stop and invite the viewer in."

I was informed recently that the National Portrait Gallery (London) will be displaying my portrait of the British Olympian, Sally Gunnell (part of the permanent collection) from July to November this year.

The Gallery was founded in 1856 to collect portraits of famous British men and women.
Sally Gunnell, notable for her achievement of holding the European, World, Commonwealth and Olympic titles simultaneously, still currently holds the British record for the 400m hurdles.

This year Gunnell is acting as host and ambassador for the 2012 Olympics.

Gunnell recently commented to me about the significance of the Olympics for her, “I can’t quite believe on the 5th August this year, men’s 100m final night. I will be sitting in the stadium […] 20 years to the day since I won in Barcelona”.

The National Portrait Gallery acquired this piece for their permanent collection in 2000. The value of the National Portrait Gallery, as a social library and visual cultural link to notable British citizens, is the success in engaging with its audience. Unlike many other main attraction art institutions, anyone can relate to portraits whether or not they are versed in the arts – here are images of “people”. It is the first encounter with painting and sculpture for some people. The school tours, of a collection such as this, provide a foundation in social history in addition to the arts. It is unfortunate that Canada has had to store its collection since it was moved three years ago.

Public Animal

15th August - 2nd September 2011

Solo exhibition at
Reading Room Gallery
65-66 Frith Street, Soho, London W1

Private view 18th August 6 - 9pm

The Other
October 8 – 30, 2010.
Opening Reception October 8, 8 pm.

Kitty Blandy
Jillian Mcdonald
Carrie Walker

Guest Curated by Michael Bjornson


The exhibition “The Other”…posits the hypothesis that all creative expression is, in a sense, self portraiture or, at the very least, an extension of the way we see and/or feel about ourselves. Each of the three artists infuse something of themselves in their creative endeavors.

Jillian Mcdonald injects herself into film clips, replacing the performances of the original female love interests, playing opposite romantic film stars, with performances of her own.

Carrie Walker seeks out the faces of women who have her name in common. She then renders a portrait of each woman “…charting a meticulous visual investigation of identity and the meaning of portraiture. This collision of fine art portraiture with the snapshot blurs the boundaries between self and other…..” Camilla Pickard

Kitty Blandy’s sculptural and drawing “portraits” frequently employ anthropomorphism to adroitly capture the core nuances of her subjects. Finely sculpted heads become bobble-heads on animal torsos or are fused on sock monkey bodies. Are they all self portraits?

Michael Bjornson.