Marcy Friesen: S0E 0L0

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Marcy Friesen, “Hunting Hat,” 2021

rabbit, pellon, seed beads, bugle beads, two-cut beads, leather, leather thread and bead thread, 41″ x 8″ x 9.5″ (courtesy Fazakas Gallery, Vancouver)

Marcy Friesen: S0E 0L0

Derived from the postal code of Carrot River, Saskatchewan, S0E 0L0 is a gentle invitation into the world in which Marcy Friesen lives, works, and cultivates from. Carrot River is located on Treaty 6 territory in Northern Saskatchewan, populated by less than 1,000 people in a land area of around 1.5 km². 

We mount Friesen’s first solo exhibition with great pleasure as her work intuitively illustrates the holistic notions of Carrot River’s society through a use of specific skills and materials, while valuably contributing to contemporary social commentary. 

Presented in this exhibition is a selection of works made over the past year in which Friesen challenges the expectation of utilitarian objects to be made available in pairs – gloves, moccasins, gauntlets – through their presentation as singular items. This subversion invites us to reflect on their individuality, blurring the distinction between the personal and the social, particularly in a time when we’ve been driven to review our position in these dynamics. In confrontation with Western notions of individuality, Friesen’s work is displayed as a means to reconsider the extent to which we actively participate in our own mental and physical isolation, despite global circumstances. 

As she treads the edge of sentimentality, Friesen draws the viewer towards an intimate experience with  her naturally intuitive sensibilities towards material use, colour, and presentation choices. The natural and synthetic amalgamate in ways that are inclusive of the contemporary condition, transforming our understandings and expectations of cultural production.