Sanctuary–Noemi de Bruijn and Julya Hajnoczky
August 10 - September 29, 2019 | Opening Reception August 10, 12-2pm
Sanctuary brings together the works of Noemi de Bruijn and Julya Hajnoczky, encouraging visitors to challenge their idealized notion of ‘home’. By drawing on nostalgia felt for lost or absent homes, the show presents ideas of displacement and belonging in the spaces we occupy, as well as our interactions with vast landscapes.
The works by de Bruijn and Hajnoczky can be seen as meditations on the connection between humans and nature, and on the ways in which we attempt to control and codify nature while holding ourselves as separate. In our modern world, humans often take sanctuary in nature, and the beneficial effects of this are widely known. Here, representations of the environments that aid in self-exploration and self-awareness, both inward and outward, are brought together for contemplation. By combining de Bruijn’s works on paper and canvas with Hajnoczky’s sculpture, photography and embroidered works, Sanctuary presents a sort of Cabinet of Curiosity for visitors to take refuge in and explore. The intimacy and interaction of these imagined realms connects the viewer to the universal human experience of longing for and seeking sanctuary from our world.
Noemi de Bruijn is interested in phenomenological spaces that have been occupied and lived in. Much of her work is centered on a universal sense of being human and the elemental concerns that drive us. She combines methods of painting and drawing to emphasize distinct elements that exist in each picture. Born in Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico, Noemi currently lives and works out of Edmonton.
Julya Hajnoczky’s multidisciplinary artistic practice includes digital and analog photography, fibre art, and sculpture, and seeks to ask questions and inspire curiosity about the complex relationships between humans and the natural world. She draws inspiration from science and natural history, classic children’s literature, and a lifetime of very Canadian summers. Julya is currently based in her hometown of Calgary.