Unstructured

Art activated by play in unusual exhibition space.

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A trip to Unstructured, on view at Lowlands Project Space in Edmonton until Sept. 3, is not a visit to an ordinary white-cube gallery. The outdoor space, in the front and back yards of an unassuming house in the city’s northeast Highlands neighbourhood, is currently exhibiting a colourful riot of artist-made play structures that everyone – even adults – can explore. You can swing on a pink and purple fibreglass deer suspended from a tree branch, make music by banging mallets against wooden and steel hands or recline inside a column of mirrors that refracts a vertical tunnel of sky.  

Lowlands opened its first show, Castles of Butter, in 2020. The pandemic was underway, and an outdoor show allowed a diverse group of artists to stretch their imaginations and use the fenced yard and its trees in new ways. This “happy accident of the pandemic,” as director Steven Teeuwsen calls it, proved popular and other outdoor shows were held, even as public health restrictions eased.

“People feel much more comfortable walking into the yards,” says Teeuwsen. Unlike a traditional gallery space, they can voice their opinions without feeling the weight of an institutional gaze. 

Over the years, Teeuwsen has worked in different facets of Edmonton’s arts scene. He ran Notebook, a local art magazine, from 2006 to 2010, and then curated for Nextfest, an emerging arts festival, for several years, among other endeavours. He had thought about opening a gallery for years but couldn’t find an affordable venue. Then, he and his partner, muralist Jill Stanton, moved into a house with a commercial space next door they could also rent. 

“I always have just tried to make my own things happen,” says Teeuwsen. Since that first show in 2020, exhibitions at Lowlands have continued to offer fun, interactive experiences, both outdoors and indoors, for anyone who stops by. Last summer’s show, Good Ol’ Lawn Fun, turned the yard into a playable, artist-designed mini-golf course guest curated by Edmonton artist Ryland Fortie. 

Unstructured is inspired by Teeuwsen’s interest in interactive public art, as well as several years building playgrounds. Edmonton artist Andrew Thorne’s Hands Holding Chatter is made from two crates stacked one atop the other. Thorne, who has added hands – printed, wooden and steel – invites visitors to pick up a mallet and start making music on this percussive instrument. He has made field recordings of visitors drumming for an upcoming sound piece, creating a feedback loop where interaction informs the creation of new work. 

Burrow, by Calgary artists Nikki Tambourine and Lane Shordee, was a logistical challenge to install. A circular, bunker-like hole in the ground topped by a steel frame with a hillock of sod, it invites viewers to hunch over and descend narrow wooden steps into a hidey-hole. Six yards of dirt were removed and will have to be returned after the show. 

Sky Saw, by Edmonton artist Brennan Black, is a beautiful structure in the front yard, which is always open to passersby. Inspired by echoing sound waves, Black created a hollow column of tilted mirrors. When you clamber into it you see a mosaic of reflected sky and branches. Each time you move, the reflections shift, changing the experience.

The show includes several other pieces. There’s a giant wire and bead game by Edmonton artist Eszter Rosta, aptly called The Thing That U Always See in The Waiting Room Whenever U Go to The Doctor. Portal is a giant face-shaped play structure by Edmonton’s Nickelas (Smokey) Johnson, while Suspended Exhilaration is a strange and joyous deer swing by Paul Freeman, also based in Edmonton. 

In the fall, Unstructured will continue with new artists. Some works will stay while other pieces will be replaced, giving visitors new things to explore. ■

Unstructured at the Lowlands Project Space at 11208 - 65 St. N.W. in Edmonton from June 9 to Sept. 3, 2023. Participating artists are Brennan Black, Andrew Thorne, Eszter Rosta, Paul Freeman, Steven Teeuwsen, Dara Humniski, Nickelas (Smokey) Johnson, Stephanie Florence, Nikki Tambourine and Lane Shordee.

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Lowlands Project Space

11208 65 Street NW, Edmonton, Alberta