The Shells Left Behind – Abandoned Houses in Edmonton by Kay Peters
SITE #1:
Sir Winston Churchill Square
Kay Peters
The Shells Left Behind – Abandoned Houses in Edmonton
Kay Peters, 9409 91st St, 2025. Oil on board, 10 x 8”
Peters’ work focuses on abandoned and derelict houses in Edmonton, Alberta. They hope that by interacting with their work, viewers will reconsider the neglected spaces in their own neighbourhoods or on their commutes and wonder how they ended up that way. What series of events was responsible for the abandonment of these houses?
ARTIST STATEMENT
“I start my painting and printmaking process by exploring the city and documenting abandoned houses. Over time I revisit these houses to observe any change, checking if they remain static or have been demolished to construct something new. ”
I often project narratives onto these vacant spaces, questioning how they became abandoned; what series of events caused these houses to end up this way? Through these visual explorations, I look for hints of who and what was once there—context clues or fragments left behind that could allow me to infer the lives of previous occupants. My work offers these houses a record of their existence before they are erased from the urban landscape. It is also an ode to those that lived there, their untold stories and the circumstances they may have experienced that led to their particular outcomes.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Kay Peters is an Edmonton-based artist whose printmaking and painting practices currently explore changing urban environments through depictions of abandoned houses and domestic spaces. They are in their final year of a BFA in Art and Design at the University of Alberta and are anticipating an upcoming solo exhibition at the HUB Gallery in Canmore, Alberta. Peters’ work has also been featured in group exhibitions, including Home Sweet Home in Vancouver, Inkblot Print Exchange I & II in Montreal, and Emerging Artists Unleashed in Calgary.