exposition maîtrise

My work blurs the limits between the body, space and objects. Architecture and spaces become skin and skin turns into architecture, space or landscape.

I question how spaces affect our corporeality because the body and space are subjected to very similar processes: they can be constructed and re-constructed. They are groomed and adorned to be perfect and socially respectable but both also undergo processes of medical scrutiny and inspection because they experience anomalies, imperfections, decay and change. Both these surfaces become a manifestation for many emotions, experiences, issues and dialogue since they are both sites of cultural inscription. To communicate this story of my personal experience, my own body is often the focus of my work.

The various spaces we move through affect the way we perceive ourselves, mentally and physically; whether it is our homes, a hospital, a church, digital mediums, the internet, nature, public spaces or an entirely new place. Over the last year I have been making work that deals a lot with the idea of skin, but more specifically my skin. Moving from Toronto to Montreal in the last three years has provided me with experiences that have made me re-examine myself and think of the skin on my body in a different way. I have been using things like 3D scanners, rapid prototyping, and 3d programs to examine scars I have on my body and transform them into works that manifest emotions and personal stories embedded in them.

This exhibition deals with my subjective experience in my skin, how I feel in relation to other spaces I interact with. Because of the place I live in now, imperfections that I once saw as something to hide and dwell on, have taken on new meaning and given me new information about myself. My skin now has become a transformative space, a new and enlightening experience for myself and others to move through.

Alexandra Mainella is a Toronto-based sculptor, now living in Montreal. In 2008, she completed an Honours BFA in Visual Arts at York University and is currently pursuing an MFA in sculpture at Concordia Univeristy. Mainella has exhibited widely in Toronto, including The Sculpture Society of Canada's 13th Annual Juried Graduating Student Exhibition at Gallery 1313, Articulations at the Niagara Gallery, Polarity at Launch Projects for the Toronto School of Art and most recently, Slough, a solo show at Les Territoires in the Belgo building, Montréal, as well as Art Souterrain, during Montréal's Nuit Blanche.