A Look Back - Folk Art, Eptek Centre - Summer 1999

     The following is part of an article published in the Guardian newspaper the early summer 1999 in Eptek News by Nonie Fraser, director of National Exhibition Centre.  I was thrilled to be part of that summers exhibit - here's part of that article

cf. www.museumspei.com

     "With the arrival of summer and the freshness of the season, so, too, has the Centre a new look.  The lead exhibition is called Heartworks: Folk Art in Prince Edward Island.  Heartworks, is its simplest characterization, is a collection of Island folk art...I decided to curate a folk art show for summer 1999 at Eptek Centre, it was intended that the exhibit not become an art study but rather a survey pointing to comparisons of contemporary and historical work.  And as expected in a production of this type, the exhibition was certain to show off a whimsical, down-to-earth collection of humour and fantasy.  The exhibit begins with aspects of traditional life: hooked mats, goose decoys, furniture, samplers, and signs.  As an art form, "folk" didn't even exist until the 20th century...

...The largest category of the show highlights eight contemporary artists, one of whom is: Kerras Jeffery.  His red fox sports teeth right out of a fairytale and includes a collection of animals such as a monster raccoon; pig with two heads, ears made from sneaker soles; and a porker arranged on a dinner platter complete with apple in its mouth.  Jeffery's door, which we have dubbed folk-Dada 1 due to its surrealistic nature, is very unusual.  The work shows a man's nose, pipe, hands and foot, accompanied by parts of his dog, seemingly ambling through the door panel.  Obviously the man and his companion have a walk in mind..."