Anoxic Memory
Maria Simmons
February 4 - April 23, 2023
Reception + Artist Talk: Saturday, February 11, 2-4 PM 2023
Curated by Megan Kammerer
The Visual Arts Centre of Clarington (VAC) is pleased to announce our inaugural exhibition of the 2023 season, Maria Simmons’ Anoxic Memory.
Researcher and poet Abbi Flint once described peatlands as places of contestation and contradiction. From the dangerous to the health-restoring, the real to the imagined, the extractable to the preserved—our past and present are entangled in the mire. Canada houses 25% of the world’s peatlands, storing its highest density of these carbon-rich landscapes across Northern Ontario. Simmons works to unravel these ideas by transforming the VAC into an active peat mire, reimagining the bog’s primary three strata, one per floor of the gallery: Anoxic, Oxic, and Atmospheric.
Visitors are invited to traverse the bog, discovering the natural biology and fantastical mythos found among its layers. Fermentation becomes a powerful force in this context—a preservation agent that parallels the anaerobic underbellies of Canadian peatlands. What is fermented and changed then has the potential to remain. Found artifacts are pressurized and preserved in the anoxic strata—fermenting, off-gassing, feeding, and becoming new. They are in relationship and in flux. Sounds erupt from the oxic layer, an otherworldly call pulling viewers to the atmospheric surface where sculptural ponds of brine and plantlife glimmer in the sunlight.
Image: Maria Simmons, installation view of Eating the Swamp, 2022, exhibition and residency at Mustarinda in Hyrynsalmi, Finland.
Artist Biography:
Maria Simmons (she/they) is a hybrid artist who investigates potentialized environments through the creation of hybrid sculptures and installations. Her work embraces contamination as an act of collaboration. She collects garbage, grows mushrooms, ferments plants, and nurtures fruit flies. She makes art that eats itself. She holds an MFA from the University of Waterloo and a BFA from McMaster University. Simmons has recently exhibited with Trinity Square Video, Centre3, Xpace, and The Plumb. She has completed residencies at Mustarinda (Finland), BioArt Society (Finland), Silent Barn (USA), and Factory Media Centre (Canada).
Exhibition Programming
Anoxic Memory Closing Performance
A solo performance by sarah koekkoek
Sunday, April 23, 2023, 2 - 3 pm
Join us to celebrate Maria Simmon’s Anoxic Memory by welcoming sarah koekkoek for a final performance and closing event on Sunday, April 23 from 2 - 3 PM.
Working with ecology, dance, and biomaterials, koekkoek examines movement as a language that can help cultivate greater understanding and compassion without relationship to self, others, and the earth. Her work explores our punctured relationship and existence within the abused and exploited natural world, developing an environment of (physical) emotions surrounding climate change and the Anthropocene.
Audience members will witness koekkoek respond to Simmons’ immersive installation, moving through the bog’s sculptural environment to uncover the human memories that are preserved within.
Accessibility Note: The VAC is not yet a fully accessible building, with stairwell access to our third-floor Loft Gallery where the majority of this performance will take place. Please email us if you require additional accommodations. Our team is happy to meet your needs or provide additional seating as required.
Artist Biography:
sarah koekkoek is a multidisciplinary artist and educator based in Tkarón:to. In her former life as a classically trained ballet dancer, sarah performed with many of Canada's largest ballet companies (Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Ballet Jorgen and The Royal Winnipeg Ballet). Currently, sarah is interested in creating work that explores our punctured relationship and existence within the abused and exploited natural world, developing an environment of (physical) emotions surrounding climate change and the anthropocene.
Opening Reception + Artist Talk
Saturday, February 11, 2022, 2 - 4 PM
The VAC invites you to attend our Opening Reception on Saturday, February 11, 2023, from 2 - 4 PM. Simmons and curator Megan Kammerer will lead an Artist Talk from 2 - 3 PM. Light refreshments will be provided, including mead fermentations produced from the exhibition’s living artworks.
Visitors from Toronto are invited to take a free shuttle bus to the VAC, departing from Factory Theatre at 12 PM on Saturday, February 11, 2023. Registration for the shuttle bus is required. Visit our events page for more details.
Into the Mire:
Foraging New Ethics in the Soper Creek Valley
Saturday, December 10, 2022, 12 - 2 PM
The Visual Arts Centre of Clarington (VAC) is pleased to announce the first participatory workshop event supporting Maria Simmons’ upcoming exhibition Anoxic Memory. Join us on Saturday, December 10 for a foraging foray into the Soper Creek Valley trail system.
Meeting inside the VAC’s main galleries at 12:00 PM, this nature walk will venture out into Soper Creek Valley. Hybrid artist Maria Simmons will lead us through the landscape, introducing participants to the present ecology as we attune ourselves to fungal structures and basic floral identification techniques. Participants will learn about current foraging practices as we delve into the anaerobic underworlds of Canadian Peatlands. We invite you to co-produce living sculptures with Simmons as they use a collection of the vegetation gathered during this event to create active bog fermentations in their upcoming exhibition, Anoxic Memory, opening at the VAC in February 2023.
Terrain Note/Warning: No previous foraging or hiking experience is required to participate in this event. However, the primary leg of this walk will be along the Soper Creek Valley Trail into a stream system that includes uneven terrain, damp pathways, and natural vegetation. We recommend all participants wear shoes with good grip, dress appropriately for weather conditions, and study the Ministry of Health’s tick safety guide ahead of the day’s activities. Please contact us ahead of time if you require further assistance in these conditions. This is a rain-or-shine event. Registration for this event is recommended in case of postponement due to inclement weather.
Suggested Material List:
Weather Appropriate Outdoor Clothing
Comfortable Walking Shoes Suitable for Dirt Trails
Bug Spray
Small Mesh Bag or Tote
Additional Ministry of Health Tick Safety Resources:
Anoxic Memory is organized by the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington with the support of the Ontario Arts Council.
