Anonymous Edmontonians by Jared Epp
SITE #1:
Sir Winston Churchill Square
Jared Epp
Anonymous Edmontonians
Jared Epp, Night of the Killer Garbage, 2021. Plastic wrap, packing tape, plastic waste.
Anonymous Edmontonians is a series of interactive body casts displayed on Churchill Square. Representing fellow Edmontonians, people are invited to interact with the bodies, directly become co-creators of the work. Viewers are encouraged to approach with playful confusion and wonder: are they real bodies? Can I interact with them? What should I add?
ARTIST STATEMENT
“My work explores the human body, sense of self and building community while also exploring artist and audience interaction. I create casts of my own body in site specific contexts and provide opportunities for the audience to engage with them.”
I’m interested in how people relate to each other in public spaces in unknowable or uncertain situations such as encounters with strangers or the way that people encounter and navigate space differently in the presence of others. Through these questions I’m always interested in how community is built in spite of difference. These questions resonate with the relationship between embodied encounters in the physical and public space of our neighbourhoods compared to the infinite and global disembodied encounters that take place online. Because the body casts are moderately lifelike, they create an uncertain atmosphere of interaction that generates conversation.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Jared Epp is currently the artistic co-director of Bleeding Heart Art Space in Edmonton. In this role he curates exhibitions as well as hosting, promoting and curating experimental music concerts with Bleeding Heart since 2024. During this time his arts practice has focused on curation and sound-based art. Jared’s body casting work has been exhibited at several group shows including two exhibitions at Lowlands Project Space in Edmonton and at Nuit Blanche in Saskatoon in 2024. Jared’s art practice has also included community arts facilitation with the Bissell Centre in Edmonton, working primarily with their FASD community. Jared is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alberta, conducting ethnographic research on daily life and dementia. His PhD work focused on mental health and creativity through collaborative filmmaking. His doctoral research and current work on dementia focuses on understanding marginalized and misunderstood individual experiences against the social conventions of daily living.