‘Contre-Sens’ Melds Photo and Painting to Offer a Unique Experience

The Atelier Galerie 2112 Hosts Joint Forces Show

Fringe ArtsVictoria Lamas — Published February 5, 2019

The show is running between Jan. 24 and Feb. 9. Tucked on Amherst St., the small Atelier Galerie 2112 hosted the work of eight artists.

The two groups strive to make space for traditional methods of creating in their respective mediums, painting and photography. Contre-Sens is For the Sake of Analog’s third exhibition. Their first show in Feb. 2018 established their collective, while ANTES made their first steps with Contre-Sens.

“Our collective is one that encourages […] traditional methods of painting,” said Jose Garcia, co-founder of ANTES. “Our mission is to make shows and give opportunities to emerging artists that we believe in, [the shows] have to make sense conceptually.”

Garcia exhibited Melted, in which he tackles the themes of death and letting go, balancing them with some playful elements.

“I feel like you should always keep going no matter what,” said Garcia. “I know that people are going to see my painting, so I don’t want to give them any sorrow or any bad feelings. I want them to go home with a positive experience. Art is about trying to make a good change.”

The piece is accompanied by a homemade interactive board game, which allows the viewer to foster a physical and mental connection with Melted, said Garcia.

For the painting and drawing student, the board game also emphasizes the playfulness of the piece. For instance, in the horizon, giant ice cream scoops are slowly melting.

“I admire ice cream; it’s my favourite meal,” said Garcia. “I admire that you can see decay, and the entropy of it that is very physical […] I really enjoy that ice cream is an element that exists and you can see it die, and lose the properties that make it live.”

Garcia included friends and people he admires in Melted, making it a personal piece for him.

“Every character is specifically chosen,” he said. “They all represent something. They all [capture] different stages in life.”

From For the Sake of Analog, Irela Sara’s two pieces are exhibited side by side. One is digital, one is analog, and in both 0-255 and S-7_H43_25_0_Secs, the artist explores the spectrum of shades between black and white. While conceptually similar, the execution of the pieces is completely different.

“I’m really interested in the materiality of photography,” said Sara. “That’s the reason why I’m really interested in analog photography because you really get to see your film and see your photograph and then develop it in the dark room.”

“It’s not a photo. The image is created by shades and geometric patterns that I’m creating in the dark room,” said Sara.

“I always involve analog and digital practices in my work,” she said. “That’s the reason why I kind of wanted to create a comparison […] I’m very interested in subtle differences in my work.”

Sara explained that the digital piece appears effortless, with very symmetrical patterns—a sense of perfection comes off from the digital piece.

“Whereas in the analog work, you’re basically working in the dark room,” she said, “you don’t really get to see what you’re doing. In the process you get to develop it, fix it, […] and it’s in the last step that you get to see what you did. That’s what I found thrilling about the process.”

Visit For the Sake of Analog, and ANTES for updates on their upcoming shows.