Installation by Saskatoon Artist Carey Shaw
Private Walkthrough: 2-4 pm, April 6, 2025
Uncanny Valley is a series of elaborated stories and memories constructed visually using scale model dioramas, photography and superimposed portraits. For the Cannibal Lot iteration of Uncanny Valley, I used the history of past tenants to recreate three rooms of the house, throughout three decades of history.
While researching the history of the house, I learnt of the Cowell family who moved into 823 Avenue I South in 1949. With the help of historical archives and newspapers, I created a timeline of the life and events of three women in the Cowell family. Combined with the historical documents, imagined settings and my own past memories, I recreated three rooms of the home, one for each woman. Jennie’s (the matriarch) 1955 living room, Edna’s (daughter) 1965 kitchen, and Diane’s (grand-daughter) 1975 bedroom.
The recreations are 1/12 scale dioramas, then placed within the room it is replicating. From a carpeted fully furnished living room, to now a stripped down empty space. Each diorama was photographed and digitally enhanced to bring the space back to life with its inhabitants.
By using historical stories of the past and worn building elements I am digesting the house to create something new out of its parts. But also creating artifacts to hold the stories of the house, once it is gone. An elaborate process of documentation.