Bernadine Fox

Artist Statement

Besides muscles, ligaments, tendons, and nerves, they have 28 bones: some strong; some fragile. They are intended to keep our bodies balanced and in an upright position despite the exertion of 100 to 200+ lbs of pressure. Some artists will avoid their complex shapes altogether, opting to hide them instead. This installation is focused directly on using the foot as the metaphoric foundation of the lives they represent.

As in Blackbridge and Gilhooly's work "Still Sane," the medium of clay affords a copy of the object right down to the smallest of details found in human skin. Each sculpture is the actual imprint of one of the person's feet. Left unglazed and fired naturally, each foot reveals our commonalities: the texture of the skin, the inflated veins, the nature of the arch, and the skeletal notations of the bones. In addition, the artist has engaged in a conversation with the subject around the issue of their feet, in a manner that reveals the person's life from the perspective of where their feet have taken them (therefore the title, "On Our Own Feet").

Our feet have taken us many places. Walked us through many tragedies and towards many joys. They have stood or wanted to stand in a thousand spots on this earth. Even feet that no longer "function" contain meaning well beyond their physicality. By setting the foot apart, mounting it as a sculpture on plinths draped in fabric, and establishing a context for it with a short bio from whom the foot was cast, the artist redefines not only the manner in which people speak of themselves, but the foot and, therefore, the physicality of the human body itself. What is revealed is a unique perspective on the extraordinary people who are the subjects of this installation. Visit her site at http://www.bernadinefox.ca

Catalogue Statement

Bernadine Fox is an artist (painting, sculpture, printmaking, written word) who obtained a BFA from the ECIAD. Fox worked as a Film Producer/Production Manager and then changed career paths to work with female victims of violence. She has volunteered on the Boards of various art organizations and is a member of CARFAC BC and a signatory to the Canadian Artists Representation Copyright Collective. In addition, she teaches drawing and painting and has developed classes for individuals who are able-bodied and those who have a range of physical disabilities. Fox's work is exhibited throughout Vancouver from group exhibitions to commercial galleries. Her studio is located in her East Vancouver home where she currently raises her granddaughter.