Exhibition invites scenic tour of artist’s imagined landscape
Although fourth-year Mount Allison student and artist Hailey Guzik loves to travel, the landscapes she creates are even more vivid and fantastical than the places she visits. The construction of her newest exhibition, “Finding Castilleja Ridge,” involved an internal journey as much as an external one.
“Finding Castilleja Ridge” is largely inspired by Guzik’s scenic summer work in Alberta’s Kananaskis Country in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. The exhibition begins with a selfproclaimed “field guide” for the stylized world of Castilleja Ridge. The book, made entirely of handmade paper and filled with maps, charts, paintings and found objects, prepares the viewer for a series of places neither fully realistic nor entirely imaginary.
“[The book] was a big reflection on going away for the first time,” said Guzik.
The book was the first element of the exhibition Guzik constructed, which then spawned the other pieces around a central theme of imagined places. Through a series of journal-like entries which conceptualize the abstract idea of “Castilleja Ridge,” the book walks the reader through the process of creating their own imaginative sanctuary
Human Music – Sup: Winnipeg’s Human Music delighted the crowd at SappyFest 10 this summer, but they also released one of the most effortlessly sleek and melodic records of the year. Sup imbues a laidback nature and songs of carefree joy in a progressive package of wonderful chord progressions and memorable lyrics, particularly on standouts like “Cool Party” and “Mtn Climb.”
Miguel – Wild Heart: The career of Miguel continues to evolve and culminated in his strongest record so far, Wild Heart. Though he continues to dominate within his mastered field of R&B, Miguel also innovates within the genre by sampling classic hip-hop and ’90s alternative rock influences on his latest release. Plus, he continues to write the sexiest songs in the music industry without coming off as overtly cheesy.
JOYFULTALK – MUUIXX: Crousetown’s Jay Crocker is a seasoned musician, but MUUIXX marks his first foray into a fulllength release for his latest project, JOYFULTALK. This sonic titan samples from a self-designed catalogue of synthetic and organic instrumentation to build songs of intricate design, pushing the boundaries on innovative electronic music. A listen of the entire record is required to realize its full introspective potential
Mauno – Rough Master: Halifax continues to yield some of the biggest game-changers in the modern Canadian music landscape, and Mauno are the latest talented darlings poised to steal your hearts. This trio designs beautifully catchy pop tracks, but meticulously crafts their work so tightly that you’ll discover a deeper layer of intricacy with each listen. Sonically explorative tracks like “Manitoba” pair expertly with more traditional pop tracks like “Champs” and “Reeling,” indicating that this young band has a bright future ahead of them.
Hop Along – Painted Shut: The beauty behind Hop Along’s third studio effort lies in the masterful storytelling by lead singer Frances Quinlan and her band’s edgier, harder-rock sound. Rather than craft a record of sad songs under sadder circumstances, Hop Along captures themes of poverty, greed, abuse and mental illness in anthemic moulds which yield accessible and deep results. Standouts like “Waitress” and “The Knock” reverberate with as much emotional depth as their striking sound.
