Amalie Atkins: we live on the edge of disaster and imagine we are in a musical

Set against the luminous landscapes of southern and central Saskatchewan, Atkins' multi-layered narratives present bittersweet sagas of grief, joy and transformation that linger in the memory like half-remembered fairy tales.  Characters in the guise of wolves, bears, crows or other creatures populate her imaginative worlds and engage with human protagonists, enacting scenarios that are both everyday and otherworldly.  With we live on the edge of disaster and imagine we are in a musical, Atkins introduces an all female cast of characters which includes, among others, two-headed sisters, braid harvesters, and a troupe of roller-skating Valkyries.  With a background in textiles from the Alberta College of Art and Design, Atkins' films have an immediate tactile appeal, which is manifest in the handmade fabric costumes and props, as well as in the felt pavilions which she has created to house her projections.

A Saskatoon artist with a growing reputation for her films and video installations, Atkins' cinematic gifts have been recognized recently in national and international survey exhibitions.  This exhibition will highlight the expansion of her practice into installation by featuring pavilions housing her two most widely seen works, Three Minute Miracle(2008) and Scenes from a Secret World(2009), along with projection-installations based on a major new film: we live on the edge of disaster and imagine we are in a musical.

This exhibition is co-organized by the College Art Galleries, the Southern Alberta Art Gallery and the MacKenzie Art Gallery.