Writing about the artists, in their essay Boris Steipe and Yi Chen appeal to Carl Jung\u2019s ideas to explain how this all works. According to Jung the mental or psychic world runs alongside the physical world. It is shared by us all innately and manifests itself as archetypes, which are essentially symbols that we coincidentally all apprehend and express in various ways. These symbols are featured especially in ancient mythologies. It is these myths that particularly interest Goodchild and Smith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indeed, on display at the front of the gallery are a series of small studies by Smith, based on myths featured in the Roman poet Ovid\u2019s Metamorphoses<\/em>. As the name suggests the book consists of a series of stories about transformation. Nature is in constant flux \u2013 the river being a common metaphor for this. In one instance, Smith illustrates a scene from the story of Callisto. Callisto is a favourite companion of the goddess Artemis, but raped by Zeus \u2013 Artemis\u2019s own father \u2013 Callisto is made pregnant and exiled by Artemis. This is the scene Smith depicts, echoing a well-known painting by the Venetian artist Titian.<\/p>\n\n\n Margaux Smith, Callisto exiled, 2022, watercolour, 9 x 6 inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n And after giving birth to a son, Arcas, she is turned her into a bear. Years later her estranged son comes across Callisto, but unaware that it is his mother he aims his arrow to kill her. The story clearly highlights many universal themes such as chastity, motherhood, matricide and so on. These feature Jungian archetypes that derive not so much from experience as from an innate source we all share, and hence all recognise intuitively. The psychic river runs through us all, so to speak.<\/p>\n\n\n Margaux Smith, Scenes From The Life of Callisto, 2022, watercolour on Colouraid paper, 24 x 18 inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dreaming is the theme of the works by Goodchild located in the entry passage to the main gallery, that effectively acts as an antechamber that mimics the processing of our experiences throughout today that we do before<\/em> falling into sleep and dreaming fully. In this space, surrounded by patterned fabric, hangs a set of scenes painted in oil in miniature.<\/p>\n\n\n Installation view of the entry passage<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are the sorts of scenes that make up our mundane daily experiences, including cafeterias, the door to a friend\u2019s apartment, the basement stairs in a public building and so on. Their scale forces Goodchild to render them loosely, which, together with the intimate details they each depict, adds to their dreamlike quality.<\/p>\n\n\n Heather Goodchild, LA Ghost, 2022, oil on board, 9 x 12 inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n So it is in the main gallery where we encounter the dreamworld full on. On the walls hang alternating works by both artists. At first glance one could be forgiven for thinking the works are by the same artist, despite being in quite distinct media. All the works share a vibrant pallette. They resonate together beautifully.<\/p>\n\n\n Installation view of the main gallery<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heather Goodchild has produced a series of striking \u2018hooked rugs\u2019, that is, images made by hooking dyed wool. At mid-distance they appear to be paintings, which they are in the sense that she dyes the wool herself. One example is titled Ghost Dogs<\/em>, for which there is a watercolour study at the front of the gallery. The picture depicts two white dogs with a sword in the foreground and two suns in the background. These haunting features point to a dream world \u2013 dreams being the second route to the grasping of the subconscious.<\/p>\n\n\n Heather Goodchild, Ghost Dogs, 2022, dyed wool and burlap, 41 x 62 inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith\u2019s oil paintings in the main gallery depict surreal landscapes. They are done in a style that could be described as Paul Klee meets Samuel Palmer. The English nineteenth century painter Palmer is famous for his pictures of moonlit pastoral scenes, inspired by another Latin poet Virgil \u2013 in particular his Eclogues<\/em>. A mythological theme is evoked in the title of one of these, namely Leda\u2019s Egg<\/em>. Leda is another victim of Zeus\u2019s libido, whereupon after their tryst, when Zeus is disguised as a swan, Leda lays one or two eggs. Nothing is entirely discernible in Smith\u2019s dreamscape. It is a visual feast, with the painted surface being variously scratched, layered and dripped upon. <\/p>\n\n\n Margaux Smith, Leda\u2019s Egg, 2022, Oil on wood panel, 48 x 60 inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n And in the middle of the floor sits a whimsical construction made of bricks and various sized amphoras and vases, with a hint of water trickling across the surface. This work is a collaboration between the two artists, who have each decorated the jars. It might be read as a shrine \u2013 to the gods and goddesses that haunt the rivers of our subconscious perhaps. All told Goodchild and Smith provide a rich and evocative set of works. Magical.<\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.artoronto.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/rsz_callisto-exiled-2022-2000px.jpg\")
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