Maya Ersan and Jaimie Robson - Mere Phantoms: Shadows Without Borders

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Maya Ersan and Jaimie Robson, "Mere Phantoms: Shadows Without Borders," 2022

Summer Opening with Artist Talk: Sunday, June 19 | 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. at Surrey Art Gallery

This summer, Surrey Art Gallery is pleased to present Mere Phantoms: Shadows Without Borders, a participatory installation at Surrey Art Gallery from June 18 to August 14. Comprised of Maya Ersan and Jaimie Robson, Mere Phantoms will be giving an artist talk at the Gallery’s summer opening reception on Sunday, June 19 at 2 p.m. Admission is free but registration is required at surrey.ca/artgallery.

Maya Ersan and Jaimie Robson of Mere Phantoms use shadow play to explore the relationship between memory and architecture, people and place. In 2018, the duo created Shadows Without Borders, a mobile interactive shadow installation that travelled to refugee camps, squats, and settlements in Athens and Istanbul. Building on previously established relationships, Mere Phantoms led paper cutting and shadow workshops and play sessions with children and families in these communities.

Ersan says, “The initial idea came from the outbreak of the Syrian civil war. Having grown up in Turkey and Cyprus, I was very familiar with the aftermath of such events. Jaimie and I wanted to do something that could make a difference in our own small way with our unique tool set, which was to bring shadow play to vulnerable and displaced families.”

Some of the work created collectively during this journey is included in the exhibition along with the 3.5 x 3.5 metre shadow projection tent and custom-made flashlights. Also central to the exhibit will be a series of photographs from a night of shadow play at an Athens squat, as well as a seven-minute video documenting the workshops and shadow play sessions in Athens and Istanbul. Both the photographs and video were created in collaboration with filmmakers Leila Shifteh and Harun Yasin Tuna. For this latest edition of Shadows Without Borders at Surrey Art Gallery, the artists have made new paper-cut tableaus that will be exhibited for the first time.

During the exhibition, visitors are invited to engage with the artwork. People can add their own cut-outs to this ever-growing interactive installation and pick up a flashlight to animate the intricate paper tableaus imbued with stories from communities both near and far.

The artists state: “This project is humble in its ambitions. It does not endeavour to document or record or even solicit personal stories. Instead, it offers a creative play space in which humour, sadness, joy, and creativity can be expressed. It offers a momentary pause from daily life in a temporary home. Ultimately this piece is about play. Participants are invited to pick up a shadow lamp, make a paper cutout, and immerse themselves in this ephemeral world of shadow and light.”

In bringing this exhibition to Surrey, Curator Jordan Strom says, “I hope that it leads many visitors to consider their own family stories of migration and or displacement, while at the same, opening space for them to consider the experiences of others that have been forcibly expelled and moved from their homelands in recent years.”

The opening reception on Sunday, June 19 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. will also celebrate Surrey Art Gallery’s concurrent exhibits: ARTS 2022, an annual juried exhibition of local art organized with Arts Council of Surrey; Atheana Picha: Echoes, a window mural that celebrates the cultural importance of Coast Salish mountain goat horn bracelets; and Charles Campbell: Black Breath Archive, an audiovisual exhibition that cultivates intergenerational exchanges and solidarities within Black communities. Following the artist talk by Mere Phantoms, local artists Jim Adams, Roxanne Charles, and Cora Li-Leger will give a tribute to Liane Davison (recently retired as City of Surrey’s Culture Manager and former Gallery Curator and Director) and there will also be a book launch for TechLab: Experiments in Media Art 1999–2019.

Mere Phantoms: Shadows Without Borders is one of the 200 exceptional projects funded through the Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter program. With this $35M investment, the Council supports the creation and sharing of the arts in communities across Canada.

Mere Phantoms would like to thank their partners Khora (Athens), Project Elea (Athens), Atta Festival (Istanbul) and ASAM (Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants) (Istanbul).

About Mere Phantoms

Mere Phantoms is a partnership between artists Maya Ersan and Jaimie Robson. Since 2012, the Montreal-based duo has created fantastic worlds inspired by two classic art forms: the theatre of shadows and the art of paper cutting. The artists use as few tools as possible—such as simple drawing tools, knives and paper—so that light is the medium that makes their creations come alive. The result fascinates and captivates spectators the moderators of their own experience.

About Surrey Art Gallery

Founded in 1975, Surrey Art Gallery presents contemporary art by local, national, and international artists, including digital and audio art. Recognized for its award-winning programs, Surrey Art Gallery aims to engage the public in an ongoing conversation about issues and ideas that affect our communities and to provide opportunities to interact with artists and the artistic process. The Gallery is located at 13750 88 Avenue in Surrey on the unceded territories of the Salish Peoples, including the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), and Semiahma (Semiahmoo) nations. Surrey Art Gallery gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of the City of Surrey, Province of BC through BC Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, and the Surrey Art Gallery Association.