Amalie Atkins and The Diamond Eye Assembly at the Remai Modern
Remai Modern will debut Amalie Atkins’ most expansive film project to date on April 5.
Saskatoon, Canada
Amalie Atkins and The Diamond Eye Assembly is a trilogy of films that explore ancestral connectivity and the retrieval of distant memories.
Shot on 16 mm film and set in the rural community of Petrofka in the North Saskatchewan River Valley, Atkins’ fictional world comes alive through lyrical music and haunting narratives. A cast of female characters animates the landscape, a site of trauma and resilience, communicating with one another across time and connecting past to present. The installation at Remai Modern is comprised of three films shown on 16 mm and 35 mm projectors, giving the work a distinct visual and aural texture.
The exhibition is curated by Sandra Fraser, Curator (Collections).
“Amalie’s work is marked by a spirit of invention, which has been recognized widely throughout Canada and beyond,” said Fraser. “Her handmade aesthetic may look effortless but there’s an incredible amount of complexity in her work, where every detail is carefully considered. Remai Modern is thrilled to debut this project, which has been nearly a decade in the making, and to support the vision of an artist whose work showcases our region in ways that resonate both at home and much further afield.”
The exhibition is on view in Remai Modern’s free Connect Gallery until June 9. On April 5 at 7 PM, visitors are invited to a special screening for the museum’s latest Turn Out event. Remai Modern will present Atkins’ project in the SaskTel Theatre with a live musical score by respectfulchild, featuring performances by members of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. Free with admission or membership.
The exhibition also coincides with the launch of Remai Modern’s first artist’s edition, an original screen print of Atkins’ creation that shines a light on her creative process. The screen print, derived from a collaged map Atkins’ created in reference to the trilogy of films, points to both fictional and real locations in Saskatchewan and provides clues about the topography, characters and action in her work.
The limited, 50-edition run was printed by Michael Peterson from Saskatoon’s Void Gallery and consists of eight layers of hand-mixed archival ink on cotton rag paper. It is available for purchase in the museum’s Art & Design Store while supplies last.
Remai Modern’s presentation of Amalie Atkins and The Diamond Eye Assembly is made possible through the generous support of TD.
About Amalie Atkins
Amalie Atkins lives, works and canoes while holding a film camera in Saskatoon. She creates cinematic fables through a blend of film, textiles, installations, performance and photography, imprinting a fictional world onto everyday life. Atkins has exhibited nationally and internationally including at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; Central Art Garage, Ottawa; Moving Image, New York City; and 12:14 Contemporary, Vienna. She has also exhibited in Queensland & Tasmania, London and Berlin.
Her work has been included in major survey exhibitions, most notably, Oh, Canada, presented by MASS MoCA, North Adams, Massachusetts; DreamLand: Textiles in the Canadian Landscape, presented by Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto; and Road Show East, which toured in Eastern Europe.
Atkins was the recipient of the Locale Art Award for western Canada in 2011 and long-listed for the Sobey Art Award in 2012 and 2013. The solo exhibition we live on the edge of disaster and imagine we are in a musical toured to the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina; Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge; and College Art Galleries, Saskatoon. Her work is currently on view in Where the hour floats, a selected exhibition for Capture Photo Fest at Evergreen Cultural Centre, Coquitlam.
About Remai Modern
Remai Modern is a new museum of modern and contemporary art in Saskatoon. It is a vibrant, imaginative and prescient museum committed to affirming the powerful role that art and artists play in questioning, interpreting and defining the modern era. Remai Modern is home to the world’s foremost collection of Picasso linocut prints, and aspires to be a leading centre for contemporary Indigenous art programming.