Exploring abandoned buildings in art

ARTS — Wendy Weseen’s Obsolete Spaces will be the first exhibition of the new year in the Kamloops Arts Council’s Main Gallery. Weseen explores the abandonment and decay of homes and buildings in rural Saskatchewan, paying special attention to the influence of women in those settings.

She says in her poem, Abandoned House, “A woman’s occupation. Coming apart with groans, moans, sighs, murmurs. Walls painted by baby blue, school house green, faded pink. Peeling paper patterned with roses, ivy, daisies, and forget-me-nots…”.

The obsolete spaces that Weseen focuses on in this exhibition are the second stage of housing built by European settlers. The houses were designed for function and economy and became ruins when they were eventually abandoned. Weseen uses photographic elements and three dimensional collage pieces to capture the essence of this abandonment, a process that took several years to compile.

Obsolete Spaces has recently finished touring throughout art galleries in Saskatchewan. It will be in KAC’s Mail Gallery from Jan. 9 to Feb. 7. The gallery is open from Tuesday to Friday, 10 a.m.to 5 p.m., and Saturday until 4 p.m.