Google Earth

Eryn Foster and John van der Woude

October 23 - November 28th, 2009

Opening Reception: Friday October 23, 6 - 9pm
Artist talk: Friday October 23, 6pm

Animation still from Flight Simulation, 2007-ongoing.

From the first aerial photograph made by Nadar in 1858 to the first fully illuminated view of planet Earth taken by the crew of Apollo 17 in 1972 to the release of Google Earth 3.0 in 2005, our access to views of the Earth has increased exponentially. In their exhibition at Gallery 44, Eryn Foster and John van der Woude demonstrate what can be done with the visual information made publicly available today by Google Earth.

In Eryn Foster’s animation, Flight Simulation, aerial perspectives of the landscape coalesce into the abstract renderings and discontinuous movements of computer-generated images. Flight Simulation thus brings to our attention the sociological distance we have traversed from being airplanes passengers to being “virtual navigators”—as Foster refers to the users of Google Earth—and how this “developed” perspective affects our relationship to the Earth.

John van der Woude’s series of photographs, Airports—composites of satellite images downloaded from Google Earth—show us in astonishing detail the nine busiest airports in the world. Van der Woude refers to the airport as “a metaphor for the ultimate strength and weakness of contemporary life”. Beyond their formal beauty, his images immediately bring to mind issues of accessibility in an age when populous locations are prime terrorist targets.

Google Earth opens on October 23 and continues until November 28. An opening reception will be held on Friday, October 23, from 6 to 9 PM at Gallery 44, located at 401 Richmond Street West, Suite 120, Toronto. The artists will be giving a talk at 6pm.

Biographies

Eryn Foster           
Eryn Foster is an interdisciplinary artist who currently lives and works in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University and a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Guelph.  She has participated in residencies at the Banff Art Centre, the MacDowell Art Colony in New Hampshire and the Vermont Studio Centre. From 2005 to 2009 she was the director of the artist-run Eyelevel Gallery in Halifax and also has worked as an instructor in the Foundation Studies program at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University. Recently, she has been creating non-gallery based works and performances through art festivals such as the Mountain Standard Time Performative Art Festival in Calgary and the Ok. Quoi?! Contemporary Art Festival at Struts Gallery in Sackville, New Brunswick.

John van der Woude
John van der Woude is a photographic and new media artist who initially studied art and design at Camosun College in Victoria, British Columbia and later received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2007, focusing on photography and graphic design. He has won multiple awards, including the Magenta Foundation's Flash Forward award and the Bank of Montreal’ Financial Group's 1st Art! Competition. He has exhibited his work across the country and has been featured on many media outlets, including CTV and CBC, both locally and nationally. His work is included in numerous private collections, including the BMO Corporate Collection. He currently lives and works in Montreal, Quebec.

EXHIBITION ESSAY BY MARCO AVOLIO