The Memory Palace
Julya Hajnoczky & Stephanie Jager
in conjunction with Exposure Photography Festival
Feb 1-24, Open Thurs-Sat, 11am-6pm
Art Party: Fri Feb 23, 5-9pm
Room One, The Conservatory (by Julya Hajnoczky). No one has set foot here for who knows how long. Panes of glass, glittering shards scattered in the drifts of snow. Pieces of paper with delicate images of plants and fragments of text are pinned to the wall, others flutter about the room. Room Two, The Living Room (by Stephanie Jager) Though rightly it should not be called the ‘living room’ for there is nothing living here. Photographs crowd the walls. For some reason though, the subjects are unclear. Are they fading? Have they been deliberately obscured? There is no one here to answer our questions.
Julya Hajnoczky
Julya Hajnoczky was born in Calgary, Canada, raised by hippie parents, surrounded by unruly houseplants, bookishness and art supplies, so it was perhaps inevitable that she grew up to be an artist. Her multidisciplinary practice seeks to ask questions and inspire curiosity about the complex relationships between humans and the natural world. In 2017Julya built the Alfresco Science Machine, a combination tiny camper and workspace, and has been travelling, exploring and documenting the many ecosystems of Western Canada ever since. If she’s not in her home studio working on something tiny, she’s out in the forest working on something big.
Stephanie Jager
Stephanie Jager’s work navigates the complexity of the human mind, unravelling the enigma of memory's fallibility, exploring the inaccuracies of our recollections and how memory is a delicate dance between the tangible and the intangible. Delving into the realm where the heartbeat of memory resonates more with feelings than factual accuracy, she explores the nostalgic allure of traditional photography methods (Polaroid transfers and cyanotypes), encaustic wax and the inherent imperfections embedded in our memories and our efforts to preserve our experiences. Stephanie's work serves as a visual meditation on the delicate balance between what is real and what is remembered.