An interview with Struts Gallery artists in residence, Libbie Farrell and Sophia Lawrence
In the back of Struts Gallery, a local artist-run-center, lies new piles of pink cardboard and sparkling papier-mâché sculptures. These were created by artists and Mt.A alumni, Libbie Farrell and Sophia Lawrence, for their new “short film-slash-video project” called Super Epic Mega Journey Bitch, or Mega Bitch for short.
Mega Bitch follows the story of a character named Mega Bitch, who goes to Frenchy’s and buys a bikini. Shortsightedly, they do not wash the bikini after purchasing it, causing a science fiction STI “which opens a portal to the Mega Bitch, the Super Epic Mega Journey Bitch Universe,” says Farrell. Farrell and Lawrence started working on the script for the film during their BFA, and it has been an ongoing project for the past four years. Farrell says the project has “been a gorgeous, beautiful, collaborative effort” describing it as “very fun, to sit down and be like, what if this happened? And then this happened?” Farrell and Lawrence have been collaborators since their first-year at Mt.A when, Lawrence said, they made this “stupid little puppet thing, and then we were like, should we, like, be friends or something? And now we’re making big puppets together!” Both artists agree what brings them together and makes their collaboration work is that they have the same sense of humour, and share a love for colour, sparkle, sound, and maximalism.
Although, according to Farrell, it “really has been a giggle fest” since the two friends reunited in Sackville for the first time in-person since their graduation, they got down to business with a friendship bracelet making event on Oct. 29. Farrell says they chose friendship bracelet making “because we’re friends and we want to celebrate being together, and having the opportunity to be together.” They go on to emphasize that they “want other people to celebrate their friends.” The back room of Struts quickly filled with people loading plates from the beaded buffet, as they chatted with each other and the artists.
After their BFA, Lawrence did one semester of the Nova Scotia Community College’s Screen Arts Program before realizing it did not align with their future goals. However, Farrell says, “no education is wasted,” as Lawrence did a lot of the “pre-production kind of stuff,” allowing the duo to have “very organized script, shot lists, [and] a shooting schedule,” which helps them work efficiently. Lawrence is currently in the midst of an MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Kings University, in Halifax, N.S. During their time at Mt.A, Lawrence spent a summer working for the Marshlight Puppet Theatre, where Lawrence says they “became obsessed with making stuff out of cardboard.” Since graduating, their personal practice has grown to revolve around writing.
Farrell’s practice is mostly textile based. After graduating Mt.A, Farrell says moving to Edmonton Alta., meant not having a studio space, so using the skills they learned during a post-grad computer engineering diploma, they started making “weird little video games” in the “choose your own adventure style, sort of, using paper [and] play-doh to make animations,” which didn’t require a large studio. Currently, Farrell has a new studio and is working on a collection of tapestries that are part of the Mega Bitch world. Both tapestries and the Mega Bitch film will hopefully be exhibited in Halifax during the summer of next year.
Lawrence recommends upcoming graduates to have “some sort of type of practice that’s like an accessible material to carry you until you can get an opportunity like this,” emphasizing the importance of “smaller aspects of your practice that you can do when you’re exhausted, and when you’re burnt out, or sitting on your couch, watching TV.” While they were accepted to this residency program, Lawrence says “part of being a creative person is the rejection, and it is sucky, and it does make you rethink things often, but it’s part of it.” Lawrence urges artists to talk about their rejections, saying “you have to support each other in the battle against the world.” Farrell adds sometimes you may ”have to do a job that isn’t in a creative field, because it’s scary times and sometimes you gotta pay your bills.” Both artists urge young creators and writers to “keep doing it!” Lawrence emphasizes the importance of sticking together, saying “you gotta have friends y’all, friendship saves all.”
To learn more about Libbie Farrell and their work, check out @moth.thoughts on Instagram. Find out more about Sophia Lawrence on Instagram @sophies_pages or through their website sophialawrence.ca