Critical Writing Index

Kailey Bryan: Bits & Places Rogue Gallery, Eastern Edge Artist Run Centre

by Gloria Hickey

C Magazine, Spring 2014, no. 121, pp. 70-71

This article is a review of Kailey Bryan's exhibition Bits & Places at Rogue Gallery in St. John's, Newfoundland, which ran from September 7-27, 2013. The author argues that Bryan's work is mainly about the body as a site of meaning. Hair, which can signify someone's presence, and even their gender, sexuality and memory, was the through line of this show. While Bryan has aligned herself with the queer art community, her work has a sense of inclusionary politics, largely because she concentrates on the body, which is a common denominator no matter a person's sexual orientation. In her video work Open Up, Bryan delicately but dangerously cuts her way out of a stocking that's pulled over her head. In Rug Hooker, the other video piece in this exhibition, Bryan uses a rug hook to pull her pubic hair through her panty hose. Both pieces explore the body and its vulnerability.

ITEM 2014.014 – available for viewing in the Research Centre

Videos, Artworks and Artists Cited

Open UpKailey Bryan

Rug HookerKailey Bryan