Sharp Teeth, Jocelyne Junker, Chelsea O’Byrne, Randi Wever and Chelsea Yuill
2018
Curated by YiFan Jiang and Jennifer Dickieson
Presented by Zine Club
Launched at VABF Monthly Open Studio, June 2018
It's one part saccharin, but sincere too, and I feel like that's a part of girlishness that scares us. The quote, whether it’s interpreted to be about grit, menstruation, hidden violence, perceived appearances, or the pinches in the heels of our shoes, is a topspeed sprint away from the safety of ironic distance.
Sincerity is punk. It’s even joyful. It’s teeth are smart. Used to take a bite.
"My girlishness has sharp teeth"
On a late night spent trolling the internet, this quote from Orser, became an earworm. Typed into a google search engine, these words will open a chasm of pink tumblr blogs, laced in roses, hand drawn tears, and punk feminist memes. I became obsessed with finding its original source, finally finding it claimed by Orser, on her Goodreads profile. The quote likely comes from an e-chapbook she wrote, a poetry book called "Winter, another wall". I tried to buy the chapbook but Orser's wordpress had been hacked, I was redirected to a purchasing site for domain names.
Days later I was still thinking about it. It stuck so fast, I couldn’t tell if I liked it, I just knew it did something to me. Another result from that evenings scrolling remained too: A screenshot from the 2005 program “Wonder Shozen”. It features a blonde girl, no older than 10, looking directly into the camera as interviewee, text superimposed over her striped t-shirt asks “What is Love?”. Her response? “a neurochemical con job”.
*MygirlishnesshassharpteethMygirlishnesshassharpteethMygirlishnesshassharpteeth*
JOCELYNE JUNKER is a Metis artist from Regina, Saskatchewan. Through her practice of photography she ruminates on the physical spaces she encounters and the impermanence of them. She uses portraiture as a tool to comment on the cultural discussion of representation, and the the depiction of the self through performance.
CHELSEA O’BYRNE (BFA Emily Carr University) is an illustrator living and working in Vancouver BC. Her works often explores themes of childhood, nature, and relationships through the use of watercolour, graphite, and collage.
RANDI WEVER is an interdisciplinary artist that lives and works in Vancouver BC. Holding a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design (2017) her practice brings painting, sculpture, and installation together to explore ideas of humour and hierarchy within art. Wever’s recent work involves the production of large-scale sculptures with autobiographical narrative origins. Her large prop-like objects, at once recognizable, are mystifyingly abstracted, setting the stage for participation.
CHELSEA YUILL dabbles in weaving, embroidery, video, film + digital image making, producing works that are celebrations of femininity. Currently based in vancouver on the unceded coast salish territories, chelsea is completing her bfa in critical + cultural practices minor in curatorial practices at emily carr university + is a summer curatorial assistant at the jewish museum and archives of bc.
JENNIFER DICKIESON is a writer and artist in Vancouver. She holds a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design (2017).
YIFAN JIANG is a Vancouver-based artist working in painting and performance. She graduated from Emily Carr University of Art + Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2017.
