Svava Thordis Juliusson @ Big in Nova Scotia, MSVU

Svava Juliusson Blanket Sacrifice, 2003; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Last September I saw the Big in Nova Scotia exhibition at the Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery near Halifax. The show, curated by Ingrid Jenkner, ran from August 23 to September 28, 2014 and featured the work of nine artists. Painting, sculpture, and textile-based work made within a 33 year time-span (1980 to 2013) were included and, as the title suggests, all the artworks in this exhibition were BIG.

Svava Thordis Juliusson (b. 1966 Siglufjordur, Iceland; currently lives in Hamilton, Ontario).

The moment that I entered the Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery last September, Svava Thordis Juliusson's Blanket Sacrifice grabbed my attention. How could it not? It occupied most of the gallery floor real estate. I'm familiar with Juliusson's rope and cable tie sculptures, as well as her mammoth rope and cable tie installations so her use of discarded clothing came as a surprise to me; her affinity for large scale did not.

Svava Juliusson Blanket Sacrifice, 2003; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Juliusson graduated from NSCAD in 1997 and then earned an MFA from York University in Toronto, Ontario in 2007. In the late 2000s she founded and ran List gallery on the Danforth in Toronto. She's followed this up with numerous residencies and awards.

Svava Juliusson Blanket Sacrifice, 2003; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

In 2003, Blanket Sacrifice was exhibited at ArtsPlace, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, at the Mary E. Black Gallery in Halifax, Nova Scotia and then it finally made its way into the collection of the MSVU Art Gallery.

Blanket Sacrifice: about 60 sheep-sized elements (salvaged woollen blankets stuffed with discarded clothing), wooden barrow, wooden platform.

All the photos were taken with permission.