PEGGY TAYLOR REID
A CULTURE OF CONVENIENCE

JANUARY 4 TO 28, 2017
OPENING RECEPTION: FRIDAY,  JANUARY 13, 5 - 7PM

Peggy Taylor Reid, through her lens-based practice, has constructed an ongoing typology of everyday objects. Her current subject matter refers to an industry of recycling born from a culture of convenience and obsolescence. She reflects on the social and political implications of the objects themselves, revealing images that also integrate humour, irony and formalism.

form follows (dis)function
form follows (dis)function is a visual response to a culture of convenience. The title refers to the principle form follows function associated with modernist architecture and industrial design in the 20th century. The principle was that the shape of the building or object should be based on the intended function or purpose. Over many years of disassembling boxes to make space in her trash, and now recycling bins, Taylor Reid became enamored with the variety of their designs. The boxes she photographs are emptied and disassembled to reveal their interiors. They become oddly formalist and also reveal the ingenuity of their construction.  It is also interesting that all the different shapes, when assembled, form a rectangular container. The items are absent yet traces from contents of the box, and tears from being disassembled, remain. The title references more than the function of the box itself, but also its final destination and function as recycled material. These carefully conceived forms are alienated from their original purpose and are now part of the waste economy. 

Vortex 
Vortex is a series of photographic images that combine the beauty of movement and stasis. The spinning objects (Mason Jars) reflect Taylor Reid’s interest in finding stillness and balance within a frantically revolving object. The Mason jar connects to concerns she has around the changes in food production and consumption. It is a visual response to the loss of self-reliance, supplanted in a culture of convenience by industries that preserve food for us. Throughout history gathering and preserving were a way to create a continuum for the consumption of food; they were a safety net. Traditionally used to preserve food (providing nourishment in times of scarcity), the Mason jar’s role as a vessel extends beyond the mundane and into myth.  In this body of work Taylor Reid looks down into the spinning jars to create a sense of loss of control.

peggytaylorreid.com