Angela Inglis had a solo exhibition, curated by Joan Stebbins, at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery in 1997. David Wagner wrote the catalogue essay:

Inglis' works emphasize the inherent qualities of the material they are made from. The effects of gravity and other physical laws are evident in the works, as multiplied thicknesses of paper reveal their imperfections in sagging cascades and bulges. By layering row upon row of paper, the artist points out not how manufactured and consistent the materials are, but how inconsistent, imperfect and flawed they are. As layers are built up out of paper and paste, they begin to bend under their own weight and extrude from their varying thicknesses. Each slight variation is multiplied by its repetition, causing areas where there is ink on the page to rise above those where there is none.

- David Wagner, Angela Inglis still life(s) with adjectives, Southern Alberta Art Gallery, 1997 p. 3

The work I’ve been making over the past few years has roots in ideas I have about making objects. It is part of my curiosity about bringing together characteristics of painting, sculpture, architecture and literature – sort of the idea of visual and written language/information existing together within an object. I’m interested in concepts that move in and out of a variety of meanings, and how language is shaped through the flow and digestion of information.

In the past I have used private and public shred products such as corporate paper waste, newspaper, money, phone books, mowed-over grass, leaves and hair with glue (as the binder) to build surfaces, layer upon layer. The idea of the impact of information on the brain (hence, body) whether it be available public knowledge or confidential (exclusive)… that information, when absorbed, changes morals and behavior, the body in its own particular context. While building a work, the text or images on the paper become distorted beyond the blatancy of its original form, the lines on the surfaces draw themselves and form into patterns. The information merges with the glue to form a new narrative in the way that language gives shape to the world. A newspaper article can be the subject as well as the visual imagery of the piece, abstracted through colour and visually unrecognizable as words and paragraphs.

Angela Inglis
6 February 2002

The meaning of what actually happens and appears while it is happening is revealed when it has disappeared. Remembrance forms a story. Sticky goo I press into your form. You are my sticky form and my mind turns into goo. Mind where you walk is a step I have taken. A spectacle fit for the gods. Than, seeing tempted thinking. At least that’s how I care to remember it. A work of habitual ego.

It is through thinking we are able to place an object into a context of any kind. Before this act, an object remains an object, without practical wisdom and not a solution to a riddle. The experience of thought itself is spiritual, as is any description of the world of appearances. The object existing for acknowledgement and recognition by a subject permits the mind to withdraw from that world without ever being able to leave or transcend it. Any withdrawal without a leave is spiritual. A work of spirit.

In essence, holding beliefs or making a thing can symbolize the blind impress all our behaviors bear. Setting the tone of a life understandable to, at most, only one person. A transparent context is required to cover this lonely notion. Covering something up is a deep deed. One might miss the point, had there been one to miss. A work of omitted absence.

Is there a question? Where are we when we think? How can there be nothing in the moment of making? And, if there is something, can we name it? Is that the question? To bring any answer reality – a story is made up – I have seen the story, I have told it, and now, I am part of it…. To answer the question, I have made that journey many times, and I am quite certain my abilities are not going to serve me well in an attempt to explain. I can’t explain it. No question. A work of no question? Work equal to truth.

As with written words, the most successful ones tend to consider the fact that the work is not for them, and proceed to think about the most favorable reading. My most fortunate position. The observed swallowed and digested. Gone. Energy. Into what? A smile…. standing looking out, you realize the situation and immediately feel uncomfortable. You know you have been there before. Standing in a crowd, looking so friendly that you are a center, when suddenly, you see your self and the huge smile your face is supporting. A smile too old to be an invitation, or expression of pleasure, for company. A smile indicative of nothing perceivable by anyone. A smile on its own. Desperately you try to wipe it off but can’t find a reason. You can’t think of another expression. The immobilizing smile.

For information please contact Gallery Coordinator Robert Epp eppr@ms.umanitoba.ca