"Ţa, ţa, ţa, Capriţa, ţa!"

Ţa, ţa, ţa, Capriţa, ţa!

Reception May 15th 6-8pm

Emily Hope was born and raised in Aurora, Ontario, and college-educated at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, where she earned a BFA in 2012.

In 2011, she founded the Wild Man Appreciation Society, a civil society and personal museum dedicated to the promotion and preservation of tales of the Wild Man.

Emily lives in Kamloops with her husband, Cory, and their daughter, Molly. During the week you can find her at the Kamloops Art Gallery where she works as the Education and Public Programs Coordinator.

STATEMENT

Throughout history, the Wild Man has played an integral role in festivals, storytelling, art making, and other forms of popular and folk culture all over the world. Inspired by this rich tradition, in September of 2012 Emily Hope founded the Wild Man Appreciation Society, a civil society and personal museum dedicated to the preservation and promotion of tales of this feral creature. Through the Society, Hope looks to make connections between the past and the present, and demonstrate how these historical traditions remain relevant in contemporary society.

Recently, Hope has begun to further her research through an investigation into the role of the Wild Man in pre-Lenten festivals. With roots in ancient magical-mystical religion and shamanism, these celebrations are the remnants of renewal rituals, used to ensure the end of winter and the return of fertility to the land and people. Despite being outlawed in the seventh century, the old festivals persisted, although often in altered forms, and continue to be practiced today as theatrical pageants and parades in villages around the world.

During a one-month residency with the Bucharest Artists-in-Residence program, Hope had the opportunity to witness first-hand the power that these festivals still have throughout the Romanian countryside. Bringing together religious and secular elements from over two thousand years of history, the Romanian Winter Traditions are astonishing and beautiful. Through this presentation of field notes, photographic documentation, drawings, and prints, she hopes to share an intimate portrait of these yearly customs.