Gallery Opening: Ava and Ama
Ava and Ama are two ladies living in Balne, a fictional town inspired by the English town of Calne. Xinleh spent a formative year living and working in the UK; a period that still holds a particular tension for her. Charming, yet the experience is weighted by her first time living alone and by her awareness of how, as a Singaporean from a former British colony, she relates to Britain’s colonial history. She is interested in the questions of movement and transformation, in the shapeshifting nature of the immigrant experience, where the absurd lurks in the everyday. Through surrealistic devices she seeks to combine inconceivable ideas in unexpected ways– a symbol of establishing one’s unique identity in unfamiliar places.
Ava and Ama live at the edge of distortion, which reflects the artist’s personal experiences of the visible and unseen.
IMA acknowledges the support of the Province of British Columbia for keeping our gallery free to attend.
IMA operates on the territory of the Lhtako Dene Nation, a traditional land-use area of the Dakelh and Secwépemc peoples, recognizing their historical and ongoing connection to the land.
