SUM Gallery, Flavourcel Animation Collective three-day pop-up

SUM Gallery, Flavourcel Animation Collective set to host a three-day pop-up queer exhibition in Vancouver
April 7-9, 12-6 pm.

By Daniel Itai

SUM Gallery and the Flavourcel Animation Collective will from the 7th to the 9th of April host a three-day pop-up exhibition of queerly macabre experimental animation.

The exhibition will be held at the Sun Wah Centre which is located at 268 Keefer St. Vancouver and curated by Queer Arts Festival’s assistant-curator, Benjamin Siegl.

Moreso, the exhibition is set to enchant and spook audiences as it blends multimedia installation, 3D projection and sound experimentation to present a sensory crawl through a haunting landscape of ghouls, guts, creepies and crawlies.

"Animation as an industry is not without its binaries, join the prosperous but strenuous industry grind, or resign yourself to outsider status making animations alone in your basement. The Flavourcel Collective subverts this binary by choosing the latter, with one significant exception they are not alone in the basement. Combining the talents of 10 artists, Flavourcel embraces an alternative approach to animation through collectivist collaboration and resource sharing.

In Centipede, movement is recognized as a principal component of fear. From the sudden movement of jump scares in thrillers and haunted houses inspiring our fight-or-flight instincts, to the agonizing dread of movement’s absence all together. The Centipede, a multi-sectioned organism, moves in unison towards an undiscovered future, encapsulating both the animated image and the bold, collective journey Queer folks undertake when creating space in this world, foot over foot, frame by frame.

For decades, queer movement was restricted to the darkness in the corners of dark bars and margins of our minds. As queerness moves further and further into the light, there is a ripple both backwards and forwards; towards the future, but not without the intrinsic hauntings of all that has been shouldered," read a joint statement from SUM gallery and the Flavourcel Animation Collective.

For those wanting to attend they can register by visiting sumgallery.ca/centipede-flavourcel-exhibition/. The exhibition is open for drop-in visits on the Lower Ground Floor of the Sun Wah Centre from 12 to 6pm, Apr 7th to the 9th 2022.