Grow Op 2020
Gladstone Hotel
Grow op 2020
Gladstone Hotel
Climate Appropriated – Michael Little & Nicole Little
Video courtesy of Nicky Young and The Gladstone Hotel
Climate Appropriated was a dialogue between sibling artists, conversing through a series of conceptual explorations. The exhibit was hosted by The Gladstone Hotel as part of Grow Op 2020.
Ceramic artist Michael Little sets his living ecologies within abstracted environments. Mixed media artist Nicole Little responds with gods and goddesses of angry storms and stolen harvests.
Together, these works examine the strident imbalance between urbanized ecology and unchecked waste. Here, plants are cultivated and showcased in a symbolic commitment to environmentalism. Meanwhile, plastics infiltrate and colour the pieces and the space.
Photo courtesy of Brianna Roye and the Gladstone Hotel
Artist Statements:
Michael Little is an artist by instinct. His representative work expresses emotion through gesture and color anchored by conventional composition. In his abstract work, he a puzzle solver, fitting together ceramic pieces. He finds this a most exquisite challenge and reward.
https://www.instagram.com/mike.little.1000/
Nicole Little experiences creation through the lens of ADHD hyperfocus. Visual challenges satiate her impulsivity and activate her ability to concentrate. Her work often centers on themes of finding value in discarded objects and people.
https://littleneocreative.com/
https://www.instagram.com/littleneocreative/
Climate Appropriate Sketchbook is available online through The Sketchbook Project
On Site Installations
A Love Affair with Plastic
The Gladstone Experience
Grow Op 2020 was very intensely focused on growth and greenery. Michael’s work featured living plants in ceramic sculptures. Much of my work focused on harvest gods.
It felt hypocritical to present nature and living things without acknowledging that human beings have, in essence, wrapped the world in plastic.
Having an art show during the dawn of the Corona virus pandemic was surreal. The Gladstone was able to continue the show, essentially because the attendance is low.
Michael and I had intense, deep conversations with strangers about art and grocery shopping. Outside our window, we watched the FreshCo behind the hotel. The line ups were long. The people look tense, getting out of their cars.
I walked into a Sobey’s – where they give paper bags only at checkout – and purchased three boxes full of plastic bags.
I created A Love Affair with Plastic in the span of a day, pinning it to spots on the wall. The red ties in the piece were parts of the white bags. The piece points to my wrapped crucifix, a piece that gained dimension and shadow when Michael hung it in the corner.
Inside our gallery space, I felt comfortable next to my brother and a little unsure speaking at normal distances with strangers.
I set up two chairs in opposite corners and blocked off a square in another corner. I drew Michael close and everyone else from a distance.
Photos by Brianna Roye
This photography courtesy of Brianna Roye and the Gladstone Hotel.
Ceramic Artwork by Michael Little.
Gabby Frank Virtual Gallery
This photography courtesy of Gabby Frank Photography and the Gladstone Hotel.
Ceramic Artwork by Michael Little.
