Plan B Merchants Co-op is showcasing the work of self-taught artists such as Brenna Lord, whose exhibition En-Trails is now gracing the walls, until February. This is Lord’s first time showing her work publicly in Halifax, but it won’t be her last. The artist’s work is a reflection of surroundings, spontaneously created without initial limitations.
Lord started drawing as a reaction to a difficult time living in Saint John, N.B. While coming to terms with her displacement she found herself producing an abundance of drawings, paintings and poetry. Recognizing the importance of releasing her creative energy, Lord began composing a personal body of work. She incorporates a human figure intertwined in a structured foreign landscape, using bold, substantial lines that suggest a knowledge of the human body and what lies beneath. Using primarily pen and ink, the works are graphic and without unneccessary classical flourish. Her style feels like a condensed version of her interests, which include graphic novels and a background in massage therapy.
Another aspect of the work is text. Challenging the notions of art and narrative poetry, Lord incorporates both artistic methods to create a snapshot of a moment. The most dominant work in the exhibition is a text-based quadriptych piece. The artist chronologically summarizes her life from her childhood to the present with a poetic sensibility. The text is juxtaposed with the distinct drawing style of the artist, with small areas of constructed drawings that fade in and about the text.
The body of work Lord has created recalls personal moments lost in the pace of modernity, and finding something remarkable in the ordinary. In addition to the smaller pieces hanging at the Plan B Gallery, Lord made a large-scale mural that spans across the majority of the gallery space. These artistic risks, like the translation of her style from the smaller format she has grown comfortable with into something larger-than-life, may usher in a new stage of her artistic career.
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