Sam Cotter: Spit and Image

September 17 – October 26, 2014
Student Gallery, The Image Centre (formerly Ryerson Image Centre)

Toronto-based artist and writer Sam Cotter works across photography, film, installation and sculpture to examine issues of visual representation. In his installation Spit and Image (2012–14), Cotter explores parallels between spatial illusion and linguistic instability through the creation of an expanded cinema work that combines a continually looping film with an asynchronous poetic monologue. The installation utilizes a two-way mirror as a screen, extending the temporal and spatial ambiguities of cinematic representation into the space of the gallery.

Within the work’s film component, Cotter explores ideas of compression and expansion of depth in cinematic space—both in the act of looking through the camera and in viewing the resulting image. The film depicts a somewhat ambiguous location that parallels the mirrored installation apparatus; it lies somewhere between a hall of mirrors and a deconstructed film set. As a cinematic installation, Spit and Image creates a site of optical disorientation that offers an immersive reflection on the artifice and staging devices of film.




Event(s):

Opening Reception
Wednesday, January 17
6:00 – 8:00 PM

Exhibition Tours
Daily 2:30 PM

All events take place at The Image Centre (formerly Ryerson Image Centre), unless otherwise noted