Opening September 18th in the Alternator Member’s Gallery is Reverie by Hana Hamaguchi.
Reverie is a small series of paintings that utilize the dreamy color palettes often seen in digital aesthetic themes like those of vapourwave or dreamcore. Lull is a surreal portrait referencing the strange stuck in time and space feeling of the visuals that make up these aesthetics. Slumber pulls more from the vapourwave aesthetic, which formed as a kind of digital nostalgia as retro elements circle back around as digital technologies advance. One of the visual elements often seen in vapourwave is a grid or checkerboard pattern. This is often used in tandem with perspective tricks to help depict the grand space and scale of the dreamy landscapes that are often associated with the aesthetic. Slumber is a nod to the pattern while also utilizing tricks referenced from the op art movement. Both vapourwave and op art use similar visual elements and reference similar styles, yet one tends to be digitally created and the other tends to be traditionally created.
Banff born artist Hana Hamaguchi completed her B.F.A. at UBCO in 2022. Currently based in Kelowna, she currently works primarily in acrylic painting. During her undergraduate program, she experimented with a variety of mediums both traditional and digital and often found herself drawn to the ways in which the two can intersect. She wanted to explore op art as it bridges the digital and physical with perfect edges and geometric shapes while still often using traditional mediums in tangible space. She has also always found it fascinating how an image can bend and play tricks on your eye depending on color or composition. Check out more of Hana’s work on her Instagram.