{"id":30525,"date":"2018-10-19T03:57:18","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T10:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=30525"},"modified":"2018-10-18T15:16:00","modified_gmt":"2018-10-18T22:16:00","slug":"heart-unites-artworks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2018\/10\/19\/heart-unites-artworks\/","title":{"rendered":"Heart unites artworks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Claudie Azoulai, left, and Nicole Schouela. Their work comprises the exhibit Heart to Heart, which is at the Zack Gallery until Nov. 9. (photo from the artists)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The latest show at the Zack Gallery, Heart to Heart, presents the work of two artists in two vastly different media. Claudie Azoulai makes felt tapestries, while Nicole Schouela specializes in photography. Despite the differences in material representation, however, the colour palettes and the themes are amazingly similar \u2013 places close to their heart, places that invoke love and peace. The places and the emotions they inspire consolidate the show into a seamless, cohesive whole.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to have a shared show forever,\u201d Azoulai told the Independent<\/em>. \u201cWe\u2019re cousins, Nicole and I. We grew up together.\u201d<\/p>\n

They came up with the idea of a joint show about a year ago. \u201cThe timing is perfect,\u201d said Azoulai. \u201cIt takes me, on average, about a month to create one piece, and there are 13 pieces of mine in this show, all new.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
\u201cHeron\u201d by Claudie Azoulai.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All of these pieces are related to a children\u2019s book Azoulai has written. \u201cThe book will be called The Spring Feast<\/em>. It\u2019s about the flora and fauna of Hornby Island, one of my favourite places. I will photograph every tapestry here, and they will be the illustrations for the book,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Azoulai considers herself a part of the great pageantry of life, and Hornby Island provides her with the opportunity to experience it firsthand. One of the tapestries, \u201cHerring Run,\u201d reflects her connection with nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery spring, herring come to Hornby Island to spawn,\u201d she explained. \u201cThen salmon come to eat the herring. Seals come to eat the salmon. Whales come to eat seals. Eagles fly over to eat the roe. Everything is alive, this great circle of life, and I\u2019m part of it, too. When I come to Hornby Island in spring, I try to stay outside all day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of the tapestries depict various birds of Hornby Island. \u201cI work from my imagination,\u201d Azoulai said, \u201cbut when I need a particular pose or gesture, I go to the beach to watch the birds or look at photographs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Azoulai dyes her wool herself, and no batch comes out of the vat exactly the same, even if all the ingredients of the dye match. \u201cColours of the fleece always surprise me,\u201d she said. \u201cThey influence the images. When I\u2019m stuck, I would dye a new batch, and the new colours might affect the image, lead to a change. The colours dictate the picture more often than not.\u201d<\/p>\n

She frequently experiments with new materials, incorporating silk or synthetic particles into the base of wool to add a shine or a different texture. \u201cAs long as the fleece entangles the other threads, the image stays together,\u201d she said about that technique.<\/p>\n

Mixing and matching is also Schouela\u2019s preferred technique, using Photoshop to work with different parts from a multitude of photographs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have nine pieces in this show,\u201d she said. \u201cThey are places I revisit often, not by traveling far away, but the places where I live and work. The places I walk. The places I love. The places that have almost a ritualistic meaning for me.\u2026 Sometimes, they are physical places. Other times, they are mental places.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schouela started her artistic life as a dancer, but dance is an unforgiving art form that takes its toll on the body. She switched first to ceramics, and later dedicated herself to photography. In everything she creates \u2013 a dance or a vase or a photo collage \u2013 there is movement and transformation. The images flow through each other, striving towards abstraction and emotional truth.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
\u201cPerceived Threat\u201d by Nicole Schouela.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cPhoto manipulation is freeing,\u201d she said. \u201cI could take pieces from here and there and create a new image I want, while it still retains the essence of the originals. It might take me several months to finish one picture. I would stop working with it and then, later, I would return to it again and again, until I\u2019m satisfied.\u201d<\/p>\n

She photographs places that are part of her and her search for connections and understanding. By now, she has thousands of photos in her digital archives. \u201cSometimes, I would use a photograph or a fragment of one years after it was taken, because it would fit one particular composition or a feeling I want to explore,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t want my images to resemble the real places. The original photographs are not important by themselves. They are part of the process. Sometimes, I play with pieces of 30 to 50 photos for one picture. It is fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schouela\u2019s abstract compositions on the gallery walls lean towards pastel or black and white, with occasional splashes of bright colour. Some are geometrical. Others tell a story or convey an emotion.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraditional photography doesn\u2019t interest me anymore \u2013 anyone can take a picture now with their phones,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t want my imagery to be like paintings either. Photography is a separate art form. If I wanted a painting, I would paint. No, I want my collages to keep their photographic elements obvious.\u201d<\/p>\n

The exhibit Heart to Heart opened on Oct. 11 and continues until Nov. 9. To learn more about the artists, check out their websites: claudieazoulai.com<\/a> and nicoleschouela.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Olga Livshin<\/strong> is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at olgagodim@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Claudie Azoulai, left, and Nicole Schouela. Their work comprises the exhibit Heart to Heart, which is at the Zack Gallery until Nov. 9. (photo from the artists) The latest show at the Zack Gallery, Heart to Heart, presents the work of two artists in two vastly different media. Claudie Azoulai makes felt tapestries, while Nicole […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[989],"tags":[2466,8424,8425,2747,40],"class_list":["post-30525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visual-arts","tag-art","tag-claudie-azoulai","tag-nicole-schouela","tag-photography","tag-zack-gallery"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}