Cheryl Pagurek uses interactive technology as extension of artistic expression

Surrey, BC – Surrey Art Gallery is pleased to announce an artist talk by exhibiting artist Cheryl Pagurek on Saturday, November 2 at the Gallery from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., with conversation moderated by Freya Zinovieff from The School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT), Simon Fraser University. Admission is free. 

Cheryl Pagurek is an Ottawa-based artist working in photography, video, and digital media. The Gallery is presenting Pagurek’s interactive digital collage Winter Garden until April 27. The work developed out of the artist’s still life photography series during the winter 2021 lockdown. Using machine learning software, Winter Garden mirrors the viewer’s presence and movement to compose a moving collage made up of plant motifs drawn from the photography series against a changing backdrop of winter imagery. The playful interaction of the digital collage hopes to evoke joy and solace while inviting the viewer to contemplate the cyclical nature of life.  

During the talk, Pagurek will share how she uses technology as an extension of her artistic vocabulary. She will also discuss her collaborations with other creatives. Freya Zinovieff will be joining to delve into Pagurek’s projects at the intersection of art and technology. 

The School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT) of Simon Fraser University is the community partner for this event.  

About Cheryl Pagurek

Cheryl Pagurek is an Ottawa-based artist working in photography, video, and digital media. Her early training in sculpture and printmaking is key to her constructive and layered approach to artmaking. Her path to photography originated in the documentation of her ephemeral installations; these explorations continued in video, eventually leading to the embodied experience of interactive media where movement guides navigation through the artwork. Pagurek’s artistic practice now highlights the constructed nature of lens-based media while embracing the creative expression offered by computing and technology. Since receiving an MFA from the University of Victoria, her work has been shown across Canada and internationally. Her work is in several collections including Global Affairs Canada, the Canada Council Art Bank, and the Library of the National Gallery of Canada. cherylpagurek.com 

About Freya Zinovieff

Freya Zinovieff is an interdisciplinary scholar, artist, and curator currently completing her PhD in the Critical Media Arts Studio (cMAS) in Simon Fraser University’s School of Interactive Arts and Technology. Her work examines the intersections of sound and violence and how decolonial and anti-imperial approaches to listening might foster disruption for the purposes of justice and community building. Zinovieff’s MFA, awarded by The University of New South Wales, questioned different conceptions of infinity through the medium of graphic notation. She holds a First-Class Honour’s degree in Fine Art Printmaking from Cambridge School of Art at Anglia Ruskin University. Zinovieff’s curatorial practice seeks to challenge both colonial hierarchies and aesthetic sensibilities and foregrounds collaboration as an act of resistance. freyazinovieff.com  

About Surrey Art Gallery 

Founded in 1975, Surrey Art Gallery presents contemporary art by local, national, and international artists, including digital and audio art. Recognized for its award-winning programs, the Gallery engages children through to adults in ongoing conversations that affect our lives and provides opportunities to interact with artists and the artistic process. The Gallery is located at 13750 88 Avenue in Surrey on the unceded territories of the Salish Peoples, including the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), and Semiahma (Semiahmoo) nations. Surrey Art Gallery gratefully acknowledges operating funding from the City of Surrey, Province of BC through BC Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, and the Surrey Art Gallery Association.