Pip Dryden: Between You and Me

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Pip Dryden, "Between You and Me," 2021

installation

Pip Dryden: Between You and Me

The Glass Gallery space at the Kelowna Art Gallery

A new exhibition space at the Kelowna Art Gallery has its inaugural art installation now on view. Kelowna-based artist Pip Dryden was selected from the many applicants who submitted their concepts for how the space might creatively be utilized.

“We are so delighted to introduce The Glass Gallery, which is intended to showcase work by artists from the Okanagan,” says Victoria Verge, Education Coordinator, who is spearheading the project at the Gallery. “Honestly, the response for our call for submissions was amazing. It made the decision a tough one, but we are thrilled to present Pip Dryden’s work as the first of three installations in 2021.”

Pip Dryden, an installation artist and recent graduate of the Visual Arts program at UBC Okanagan, is the creative force behind Between You and Me. The work features a dining room set up for two all in white — a pair of chairs, a table, and a cake on a stand under glass. On closer inspection, viewers may notice that the chairs are constructed from unlikely materials. One of them is made entirely from needle-felted wool, while the other is fabricated from chicken wire. And, for those who are curious, it is a vanilla cake with swiss meringue buttercream icing, and yes, it is real.

“In this piece, I am examining one of the most intimate spaces in my memory: the dining room,” reads an artistic statement by Pip Dryden. “As someone who has suffered from anorexia nervosa from a young age, the dining room is the site of my fears, hatred, anger, and pain. Yet, at the same time it is also the place where families come together.”

Much of Dryden’s work is rooted in her personal experiences and makes use of domestic scenes to explore themes such as: anxieties related to eating disorders, body image, diet culture, and the effects of anorexia and mental illness on the family.

Between You and Me is on view until July 11, 2021. The Glass Gallery window space is situated adjacent to the main entrance of the Kelowna Art Gallery and is visible from Water Street.