Let the Other Thing In
New Zealand artist Kate Newby presented Let the other thing in, was the inaugural exhibition at the Fogo Island Gallery, a exhibition space housed in the newly opened Fogo Island Inn, located on Fogo Island off the north east coast of Newfoundland in Canada. The exhibition was the culmination of Newby’s six-month artist residency with Fogo Island Arts.
about Let the Other Thing In
A low-lying 16 x 22-foot platform constructed for the exhibition sat on a moss green polyester carpet — a kind of landscape within the landscape of the island — on which the artist placed groupings of kiln fired rocks and sticks she made while living on Fogo Island. To emphasize that the groupings follow a specific logic, Newby assigned them names, written in marker on scrap pieces of paper placed beneath each one. The artist’s titles suggest a system is at work, one she derives from a preference the communities on Fogo Island have for assigning names to places, landmarks and things. Described by the artist as an autobiographical portrait of her time on the island, the work was also a portrait of a specific location: Fogo Island, a place where local history is inscribed in memory through the practice of naming. Newby offers a reflection on this tradition, proposing a way to understand a landscape through its social dimension.
In another work, the artist referred to the powerful role the weather plays in the lives of Fogo Islanders. Newby installed a set of wind chimes at an off-road location where they were likely to be encountered at random by people walking in the area or driving by on an ATV. Abandoning her work to the mercy of the elements is typical of the artist’s practice; Newby often creates the circumstances for her artworks to be temporary or even get destroyed. This timeframe of destruction often builds into her art, helping to pose questions about value and the immediate timeframe artworks are typically experienced within.
