Ice Follies 2010

Aidan Urquhart, Sunshine Thoughts, 2010

Knowing that his installation would be in the middle of a frozen lake with white all around it, Aidan Urquhart came to Ice Follies with an idea in mind, to recreate the thoughts of summertime in the bitter cold environment.

Using hundreds of yards of fabric and a supply of 3000 staples on both the interior and exterior, Aidan was able to succeed in his goal by turning a simple ice-fishing hut into a summer getaway on a frozen lake in the middle of winter. Inside the hut Aidan included imagery of summer, adding a green indoor/outdoor carpet in order to simulate the idea of grass while also showcasing items that you see in summertime like napkins, bbq tongs, and flip flops from the beach.

Artist Bio:

Aidan Urquhart has exhibited across Canada since the mid-1990s and has work in the collections of the Canada Council Art Bank, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Museum London, the McIntosh Gallery-University of Western Ontario, St. Thomas-Elgin Art Centre , The National Archives-Ottawa as well as numerous private collections in Canada and the USA. He lives and works in London, Ontario.

Aidan Urquhart’s creation of Sunshine Thoughts would eventually pave the way to an exhibition at the St. Thomas-Elgin Public Art Centre (July 1- 30, 2016), entitled New Canadian Cabins.

“It started with a dot, a small circle on a sheet of white bleakness — that dot being an image of a wooden ice fishing hut covered in patterned pieces of cloth like a patch-work quilt placed against the desolate, snow-covered shore of Lake Nipissing — the result of a submission to the KPW Kennedy Gallery for its 2010 Ice Follies Competition.

Six years later, that far-away, miniscule dot has exploded into an exhibition of twelve, 4′ x 4′ acrylic paintings/collage works, and two large geometric floor pieces. The exhibition in its entirety is bright and appealing in its wide use of warm yellows and reds, vibrant circles and patterns, and sporadic images of Canadiana (patch-work quilts, nationalistic decals, a beaver, icebergs, Canadian beer). The paintings as well as the floor pieces hold together well in their solid compositions and finished application of paint and collage.” – centred.caell in their solid compositions and finished application of paint and collage.” – centred.ca