Art - 18 Months Apart

18 Months Apart featuring Sarah and Tiffany Cooper

Nov. 23rd - 27th, 2009

Gale Gallery

105 Accolade West,

York University

4700 Keele Street

Gallery Hours:

Tues. - Fri. 11:00am -3:00pm

Of two sisters one is always the watcher, one the dancer. ~Louise Glück

Perpetually trapped in childhood, 18 Months Apart explores the assigned temporal distance between two sisters, and its constant conceptual widening because of one’s mental disability. Tiffany, the artist’s second oldest sibling is cognitively locked in a permanent state where motor, communication, social, personal and community living skills are stunted, leaving her entirely dependent upon the close familial network surrounding her.

18 Months Apart, is a visual collaboration attempting to depict Tiffany’s self and social identity as filtered through both recent events and the childhood memories of the artist. Tiffany’s whimsical child-like sketches are combined with her sister’s expressionistic realism to construct a series of paintings representative of Tiffany’s personal reality, of which many aspects are universally shared among those with mental disabilities and their families.

The exhibition aims to both educate and celebrate these individuals, granting a sense of validation and acceptance; especially within an institutional space they are traditionally denied.

About the artist:

Sarah Cooper is currently a 4th year visual arts undergrad at York University whose colourful palette, subversive text and graphic imagery attempt to create commentary on several social issues facing marginalized groups within the surrounding community. Previously involved in group shows at EWAG (Eleanor Winters Art Gallery) and the Arts and Letters Club, 18 Months Apart is her first solo exhibition.

I absolutely love the message of the exhibition. Having grown up with a little sister that suffered from a mild learning disability, I have come to see how inaccessible our world really is. I believe that we should not focus on someone's disability but in their abilities. We are all the same, just simply human.

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http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=197533627929&index=1

I hope you guys come out and support creativity!