News & Writing

GJJ Interview for NME

         

Lots of TLAs here …

Had the pleasure of interviewing Gary James Joynes (AKA Clinker), multidisciplinary artist and musician, for the New Music Edmonton podcast “The NO Normal” recently.

It was a really lovely opportunity to talk to Gary about his work – both new and older – and catch up with him about some ideas and influences we share in our respective practices.

The No Normal podcast is now available on Soundcloud and wherever else podcasts are available.

The first episode of 2021 features some great discussions and music. Ian Crutchley, New Music Edmonton Artistic Director, discusses a wide range of topics with the incoming Artistic Directors of New Works Calgary, Rebecca Bruton and Lesley Hinger. They also share some of their own music with us. The second part of this episode is the interview/conversation between me and Gary. There’s also a sneak peak of some of Gary’s forthcoming work, and discussion of his new piece Sonic Suns (((GENESIS))) commissioned by New Music Edmonton, and available on Vimeo.

Give it a listen – The No Normal Podcast has had a great line up so far – lots of interesting ideas and projects!

Thanks to New Music Edmonton for the opportunity!

X – Camera Talk

       

Very much looking forward to presenting an informal online talk on December 11 2020, for the X – Camera series, run by Inter-Arts Matrix.

I’ll be speaking on MAKE=BELIEVE, an ongoing site-specific project that has been in development for the last several years. Recently, this project has really taken off in a number of ways; thanks to the support of the Edmonton Arts Council’s Creator’s Reserve Program, I’ve been able to take a deep dive into the project, and have discovered so much more that I want to pursue.

It’s really exciting to have the opportunity to talk about work in progress, and get feedback from a different community of artists, and I’m very grateful to Sheila McMath and Inter-Arts Matrix for the invitation!

Information on the talk and link to register is below:

EVENTBRITE

Hope some of you can join us – it’s free, and everyone is welcome!

SNAP Members’ Show & Sale!

        

This is one of my favourite annual events – it’s a great opportunity to purchase affordable original art for friends and family (or yourself)!

SNAP has done a fantastic job of keeping everyone safe for the last several months, and the Members’ Show & Sale will be no exception. For folks who prefer to limit their exposure outside their bubbles/cohort, you can shop the entire show online too.

I feel extremely grateful to be part of this community, and even more so that I will have work in this exhibition along side so many talented SNAP artists.

Check it out online or in person – it’s going to be lovely!

Meeting Me (virtually) tonight

       

Just a quick shout-out to anyone who might want to attend (yet another) webinar :) …

I’ll be speaking on my work and process this evening for #AGAlive, for the Art Gallery of Alberta’s Art Rental & Sales “Meet the Artist” series. The link to register is:

https://www.youraga.ca/events-features/calendar/agalive-meet-artist-sydney-lancaster

The talk is at 6pm MDT (Edmonton AB Time), and will last about an hour, including a Q&A.

A quick preview of a couple of things I’ll be chasing about:

Hope you can make it!

A Meet the Artist Event

      

I have been invited to participate in “Meet the Artist” for the Art Gallery of Alberta’s Art Rental and Sales program.

This will be a FREE, online, informal conversation with Sarah Huffman of the AGA; I’ll be walking participants through some recent projects, showing some new work that will be avaialable through Art Rental & Sales and talking about my approach to art-making.

If you’re interested and have the time, it would be lovely to see you – there will be a Q&A after the presentation.

Stay safe, and enjoy art!

A Walk in the Trees …

      

I have been busy working through the last few months of documentation from the work done this year on MAKE=BELIEVE. So much to think about, and many, many threads of research to pursue. The longer I work on this installation, the more I learn and discover. What a joy that is.

Here’s part 1 of a walk through the installation – I hope it’s a chance for people to pause for a few minutes, and maybe provide a little break in these odd and crazy times.

Looking forward to any feedback you may want to provide. Stay well & safe.

A step back in time …

        

I have had several people ask me to post video documentation of the exhibition of Macromareal (a rising tide lifts all boats) that just closed at SNAP, as they were not able to see the work in person.

Grateful for a couple of quiet days, so that I could get to the documentation, and actually DO this!

So – here you are – a short video walk-through of Macromareal!

A note in the sound you will hear: the first is an excerpt of “Fogbreath,” created by Scott Smallwood from field recordings in and around Parrsboro NS, where we held residencies to create this work in 2016 and 2017. This sound work was presented in the first gallery, as shown in the video.

The second is an excerpt of a recording of “Wave Passage Effects,” which Scott created in MAX, and which was presented in real time in the second gallery, with a video projection of the software used to sonny environmental data in real time in the gallery. This was an opportunity to ‘see sound’ and ‘hear environmental data’ from the magnificent Bay of Fundy.

The third excerpt is from the recording of the (very first!) 2017 performance of “Macromareal Prelude: in fog and storm and sunshine” composed by Scott as part of this project. We presented this work at the beginning of the exhibition at SNAP Gallery as well, but with a group of wonderful brass musicians.

Hope you enjoy this – and if you have questions. please feel free to shoot me a note from my contact page.

One Last Look …

I am in the process of editing a raft of documentation from the recently-closed Macromareal exhibition at SNAP. Below, a selection of images from that exhibition – a fond reminder for me of how lovely it was to show in this beautiful gallery & be supported by such an excellent organization – and a sampling of what was there for those who weren’t able to see the work in person.

GMFF 2020!

Excited to say let everyone know that I have a one-minute film in the Gotta Minute Film Festival this year!

The festival went live today, and will be presented in transit stations in Edmonton & Calgary, and online for folx elsewhere in the world.

My film is called “Chaotic Bodies: Take A Minute” – and as the name implies, it is a one-minute musing on the strange times we are experiencing, and the value of the moments in which we can pause – step back – take a minute to recharge – and then decide what it is that we want to do.

https://sydneylancaster.com/portfolio/chaotic-bodies-and-ruckus/
Chaotic Bodies: Take A Minute
Still, 2020

2020 has been characterized by stress, fear, chaos, and isolation. And yet, in all of that there has been value: a massive wakeup call to all of us to really consider what we value, and which things need to be jettisoned to create a happier life and a better world for all of us as time passes.

It’s my hope that this little minute will spur further reflection, and offer a short burst of bright visual input as the days grow shorter, and life continues to be complicated.