Some Things That Glow
Tamara Sponder
February 7 - March 10, 2009

Some Things That Glow (detail view), mixed media installation, 2009

The work in the exhibition Some Things That Glow explores a relationship between craft and fine art through the similarities between needlepoint and the pixel effects featured in video games and digital images. That relationship will act as a way to link memories and facts and especially bridge the gap between generations. Furthermore, with the exponential growth of technology and therefore the realism of violence in video games today, there exists a funny juxtaposition against the fiendish mushrooms and space blobs of previous decades.

"My work interprets mature themes in childhood including sexuality, puberty and emotional motifs (anger, tantrum, love, deception, lying, violence and others), and the ways in which these themes are viewed and remembered by different parties (for example, parents versus children, peers versus individuals, boys versus girls). In essence, I explore the side effects of growing up. I use humour to trigger nostalgic feelings and to relieve existing anxiety surrounding these often taboo subjects."

Tamara Sponder grew up in a military family and therefore spent her childhood moving all over Canada and overseas. Her family then settled in the small communities of Bowmanville and Courtice, Ontario where she spent her adolescence. As an only child she spent most of her youth day dreaming, imagining, writing and drawing. Her diverse upbringing strongly influences her work today. She spent three years at Queen’s University obtaining her BA in Art History before starting her second undergraduate degree in the BFAH program there. She is currently in her fourth and final year and intends to apply for her MFA.