Vehicular Traffic by Sarah Collard

Exhibition hours: August 31 to September 12

Tuesday to Saturday, 11 am to 5 pm, evenings by appointment

First Friday: September 1, 11 am to 9 pm.

Meet the Artist times: Friday, September 1, 5-9 pm; Saturday, September 2 and 9, 11-5 pm.

125 Adelaide Street, 2nd floor. Winnipeg.

Contact: 204-944-0809 / jordan@cre8ery.com for more information/online purchases

Vehicular Traffic What is your vehicle?

To create a body of work that celebrates the 100-year history of the Ford Motor Company in Canada and to illustrate Canadian social behaviour. Originally this series was created to educate immigrants coming to Canada in a transitional space set in an airport. It was meant to stimulate thought around how one gets their needs met. How do you deal with stress? Often many of us have coping mechanisms to deal with pain, some positive, some negative. The question “What is your vehicle?” asks us about our physical choice in cars, but it also asks, “What is your vehicle for overcoming life’s circumstances?”, (a metaphysical question). Vehicles can be mechanized structures causing traffic accidents, congestion or simply order. They can be arranged in sequence, driven cautiously and used as a means of transportation. Unfortunately, they can also be used carelessly and cause destruction. Many car accidents could have been avoided with proper maintenance and driving habits. Often in our lives, it is the same way. We sometimes drive recklessly and ruin the very ones we love. However, when we make healthy choices, our speedometer is happy, and we have more success.

The solution is a series of 10 wooden shaped boards, each cut from a 4’ x 8’ sheet of wood, into the silhouette of a Ford vehicle, representing a decade in its 100-year history in Canada. The reason for highlighting the Ford Motor Company is to honour their significant contribution to shaping Canadian cultural identity and to honour my father, a long-standing Ford employee. With its truck plant being located in Oakville, Ontario, it is fitting for the cars to be Ford replicas. Each car would be painted with imagery resembling the diversity of our social behaviour but not necessarily relate directly to its surrounding shape. By juxtaposing contrasting images on top of the vehicles, the viewer is forced to draw their own conclusions.

Sarah Collard is an artist, muralist and art teacher who has painted over 50 public art murals throughout Canada and has taught art for 30 years. She has been supported by organizations such as Take Pride Winnipeg, Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, the government of Manitoba, Manitoba Arts Council, MAWA, private businesses and themuralsofwinnipeg.com. She has spent time teaching as an Artist in the Schools and has taught in a fly-in reserve as far north as Tadoule Lake. Since arriving in Manitoba in 1994, Collard has taught visual arts to elementary, middle and secondary students in 6 different school divisions across Manitoba [Louis Riel School Division, Winnipeg School Division, Interlake School Division, Swan Valley School Division, Red River Valley School Division and Borderland School Division]. The topics which Sarah covers in her curriculum range from drawing, painting, printmaking, clay, wood, and sculpture. Collard has also taught art, animation, graphic design, drafting and photography in Kamloops and Chetwynd, British Columbia. Private schools such as Linden Christian School and Mennonite Collegiate Institute have also hired Sarah to teach visual arts to their students.

Sarah grew up in Burlington, Ontario and took most of her education in Roman Catholic schools such as Holy Rosary Elementary and Assumption Secondary School. Sarah acquired an honours bachelor of fine arts from the University of Waterloo, a computer graphics graduate degree from Sheridan College, an education degree from Nipissing University and courses towards a masters in education at the University of Manitoba. Travelling to 13 European countries expanded her bilingual ability and grew her appreciation for cultural masterpieces. She enjoys her large, close-knit Italian-British family, plus painting, nature walks and singing.