Barbara Hobot

The Fugitive's Forge

November 19, 2022 – December 17, 2022

The Fugitive’s Forge

Issues of toxicity and environmental degradation entwine Hobot’s imagery of excavated landscapes, alchemical experiments, and fog-catching nets. Her works weigh the fleeting gains of our material desires against an increasingly fugitive environmental balance.

The landscapes in this exhibition stitch together the Andes of Chile with the Carpathians of the artist’s ancestors. Both are sites of relaxation and renewal, but also mineral extraction and ecological destruction. Bridging these terrains reveals interrelations between distant elements. The artist’s identity is inextricably linked to the Eastern European mountain range, while her daily reliance on technology (and the metals inside her devices) connects her to the copper mining industry of the Chilean north.

Some of the glass vessels in this show refer to the alchemist’s lab which were filled with distillation jars made from early attempts at transparent glass. Images of these alembics are paired with toxic minerals integral to the alchemist’s pursuit of eternal life. Other works feature a multi-coloured glass bowl made to look like Chalcedony, a semi-precious stone. In its creation, the glass blower mixed various powdered metals into the glass to imitate the highly sought-after stone. Innovations in art production were some of the benefits of alchemical pursuits.

Some of the works in the exhibition are pierced with intricate patterns based on the fog-catching nets of Chile. The water-intensive copper mining industry necessitates the use of fog-catching technology to replenish ground water, sustain livestock, and fight desertification. For Hobot, the net pattern metaphorically connects the mountains of her Polish ancestry to other topographies she accesses as tourist and researcher. In her work, nets connect early alchemy with present day extraction sites, while also representing a web of inquiry, searching for knowledge just beyond reach.

Listen to the exhibition’s accompanying audio guide here : https://vimeo.com/787382277

A portion of the artist’s proceeds from any sales will be donated to FogQuest, a Canadian charitable organization that assists international communities with fog-catching technologies to combat water insecurity.

The artist gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.

Featured image: Alchemist’s Drinking Cup #11, 2022, digital collage on paper with copper leaf, 28” x 36.5”. Background Image: Back of painting by Joachim Wtewael (Dutch, 1566 – 1638), Mars and Venus. Surprised by Vulcan, 1604 -1608, oil on copper. Collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum. Image of Footed Bowl: Maker unknown, about 1500, Murano, Italy. Collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum.