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Scarp, installation view

Jarod Charzewski

March 14–April 25 , 2009

 
Opening Reception:
Saturday March 14, 5-8 pm

Pari Nadimi Gallery is pleased to present the first solo exhibition by Winnipeg artist Jarod Charzewski. This installation project encapsulates North America’s consumer culture which leads to overcapacity landfill sites.  Charzewski grew up in the inner city of Winnipeg but spent summers in rural Manitoba so he tries to combine his street sensibility with prairie landscape aesthetics and, as in reality; the meeting is not always graceful. This installation uses the idea of land as a capsule for history. A section of exposed earth also known as escarpment reveals sedimentary layers of rock and earth containing natural geological artifacts. These layers are in essence the history of our planet. This project is about fabricating history with our own synthetic and fleeting artifacts as the medium. 

The purchasing habits of the North American consumer requires the extraction on our planets’ resources only to replace them with processed goods in the form of discarded merchandise. This geological cross section shows the new and improved layers of the Earth. Through our ever expending and multiplying landfill sites these new layers will provide us with a planet rich in synthetic nutrients and chemically enhanced goodness.

Like other projects in Charzewski’s portfolio this project references the Earth and the human presence on it. The speed at which we mass-produce, mass-consume and then reproduce goods and materials is questionable to our survival. Perceived obsolescence is a design strategy that inspires consumers to replace their perfectly good belongings with new items. This attitude towards consumerism is what this exhibition encapsulates.  In reality these layers are made of compressed sand, soil and rock, which posses their own geological data. The layers in this installation project consists of a variety of clothing to create a more immediate version of time and human history. 

Born in Winnipeg (Canada) 1970, Jarod Charzewski currently works and lives in South Carolina, USA.  His education includes: 2006 Advanced Metal Fabrication, Dunwoody Institute, Minneapolis MN (USA), 2005 M.F.A. Sculpture, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN (USA), 1996, B.F.A. Honours Sculpture, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg (Canada). Charzewski’s work featured in numerous exhibition in USA and Canada some of the highlights for his 2008 exhibitions includes: Scarp, Halsey Institute for Contemporary Art, Charleston SC (USA), KultureKlash3, sculptural installation, 10 Store House Row North Charleston, SC (USA), KultureKlash2, video performance, 10 Store House Row North Charleston, SC (USA), Vortices, Trinity Square Video, Toronto (Canada). 

Clothing Provided by Goodwill Toronto 

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