The multimedia exhibition Little Voices debuts Jan. 24 at the Karsh-Masson Gallery in city hall and runs until March 9.
This free public display presents the collaborative works of Ottawa artist Patti Normand and writer Lesley Buxton, a partnership of words and visuals that tell mysterious stories.
According to gallery co-ordinator Meaghan Haughian, the exhibition is distinct from previous showings at the Karsh-Masson. Little Voices features a series of tiny dioramas and accompanying written artifacts. Assembled together, they create Silent Falls, a small fictional town on the edge of decay.
“Having a collaboration like that is very rare,” says Haughian. “They’ve created a fictitious world. I haven’t seen a show like this before.”
Normand and Buxton came together in 2011 when Normand’s artwork, “Death by Diorama,” was featured in Guerilla magazine. Each diorama was paired with a story or poem from Canadian writers, including a short story written by Buxton. From this experience, the artists discovered their common passion for storytelling with dark themes. They continued to work together, which led to the creation of Little Voices.
“We just started talking about what we could do that was both visual and written,” says Buxton, who has a background in theatre as well as writing. She is currently working on “Walleyed,” her first collection of short stories.
Dioramas shown in the exhibition include scenes of a house, a lake, and a motel. They are accompanied by a wide range of written passages, including poems, diary entries, postcards, and even a cookbook.
“The stories come from the visual work,” says Buxton, who describes the process as “two different disciplines enhancing each other.”
The stories aren’t strictly narrative, she says. “They’re like hints. They’re atmospheric. But there were no constraints; I could go wherever I wanted.”
While some of the artwork is meant to be humorous, Normand says it also has a mysterious theme.
“We both like things that appear normal on the surface, but there’s something dark lurking. It’s the places where sometimes people don’t want to look.”
A graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design, Normand has created artwork that is displayed in Ottawa and Toronto. She also designs props and sculptures for exhibits in national museums.
The artists’ passion for their artwork extends beyond the dioramas and stories; they’ve also created a Facebook page that features characters and events from Silent Falls. “The people are very real to us,” Buxton jokes.
The page, Little Voices, an art exhibition by Patti Normand & Lesley Buxton, also provides a brief history of the town:
“The village of Silent Falls was founded in 1880 by Thomas Malcolm McCabe. Not much is known about McCabe though rumours abound; some say he made his fortune as a pirate in the West Indies, others claim a wealthy widow left him a fortune in diamonds. Nobody can be sure. One of the village’s most popular tourist destinations is his mansion, which is said to be haunted.”
Haughian believes the exhibition will appeal to a wide audience. “Kids will be engaged in one way, but adults will be engaged in another way, too,” she says. “I think they’ll love it, because of its playful, whimsical nature.”