Carmen Hathaway: Art of Centricity: COVID-19

×

Expand

Carmen Hathaway, "Art of Centricity: COVID-19," 2022

Art of Centricity: COVID-19 by Carmen Hathaway 

Artist Statement: 

I live for the impetus of inspiration and unconditional surrender in creative process. 

The foundation of digital virtual realities I create is based in traditional media. 

The skills I’ve developed working with graphite, oil, acrylic and watercolor paint, art glass, and more — transfer seamlessly to digital art. 

When delving into the process of composition with no preconceived notions, spontaneity fuels every piece I create. 

I studied audio/video arts and creative writing in the two-year Creative Communications program at Red River College, Winnipeg in the late ‘70s. 

On graduation, I found employment in various media. The skills I put to use then, as a television script/copywriter and radio announcer/producer have come in handy in regard to my current pursuits. 

The technology at the time didn't appeal to me. It had promise, but seemed primitive. 

I sensed much more was ahead. 

That became reality in the late ‘90s when I purchased my first computer. 

Fast forward: 2022. In Art of Centricity: COVID-19, my virtual exhibit presented by Prairie Fusion Arts & Entertainment, I focus on the positive and negative aspects of COVID-19 — what we’ve come through, and what lies ahead. 

During the course of the pandemic, my art reflects events unfolding in this vicious cycle. 

Initially, this catharsis assuaged anxiety, then segued into a distinct stimulus in my creative process. 

The toll of dealing with myriad emotions in regard to death, contagion, restrictions, and social distancing is challenging, and sometimes overwhelming. 

In spite of the gamut of discord, chaos, disconnect and dystopian aspects of the pandemic, the array of COVID imagery assaulting our senses daily, creeping into dreams, entrenching awareness — my optimism remains. 

 Biography: 

Carmen Hathaway is an independent media artist of Abenaki and German ancestry. 

A member of the Abenaki First Nation, Odanak, Québec, she has resided in Manitoba since the ‘70s. 

In combining traditional methods with digital technologies, the surreal narratives of her mixed media originals seek to intrigue, provoke, engage. 

Her visual arts practice evolves through experiences of exhibition, teaching, and creating works in a variety of media including traditional and new media painting, digital photography, video, and audio. 

The Manitoba Arts Council, and Conseil des art et des lettres du Québec have generously supported her works. 

She has participated in group shows since the late ’90s. Her solo exhibitions Carte Blanche, (Abenaki Museum, Odanak, Québec), and Self-Similarity (Portage & District Arts Centre, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba) were presented in 2011. From Smoke to Cyber Signals in 2017 (Ashukan Cultural Space, Montreal, Quebec), and in 2018 at the Canadian Language Museum at Glendon College, York University, Toronto, Ontario. 

Her contemporary interpretations of the cultural heritage of Abenaki weaving continually evolve, informing adaptations and hybridizations. 

Weaving virtual realities has become parallel to this aspect in the artist’s digital projects — by incorporating and expanding on ideas relevant to the warp and weft of the fabric of life. 

https://www.carmenhathaway.com 

Special thanks to Richard Henderson, RHCS I.T. Services, Portage la Prairie, MB