A Little Sweetness, 2021
By Joanne Probyn
A Little Sweetness is an assemblage conveying nostalgia and transformation while exploring time, borders and relationships. I love how each item brings its own history, many having crossed the US Canadian border.
Some parts were collected over many years, including the pin which is over twenty five years old. The work revolves around a vintage postcard found while at Bellingham’s Penny Lane Antique Mall in 2019. The 1940s image could be of a Canadian picking-up a traveller arriving to Vancouver’s Pacific Central Station. During the 1940s, many Washingtonians vacationed in Vancouver and sent postcards home like this one.
Other items include stainless steel rectangles. These are leftover nose bridges generously donated by SMART Union Local 280 to my volunteer, mask-making coalition, Make Safe Brigade. I launched the organization in spring 2020 to help bridge a PPE gap. I also included a cat toy gifted to me from an American-Canadian friend, originally bought in the United States. The toy symbolizes a Canadian cat living in Washington. Other items include a love letter, birch bark and door hinge. All but the postcard are painted white to convey specific emotions, compositional strategies and geographical experiences.
The title is inspired by a art prompt of the same name devised by an American gallerist and artist collective leader, Jen Tough of Artist Alliance. To me, A Little Sweetness is rooted in gratitude and peace.
- Collections: Reimagining Balance