This Canadian artist-couple transforms space into a gathering place of forever nowness
We are in Crete, that most mythical and magical of Greek islands where, according to ancient legends, the god Zeus was born. On one side lies the great cerulean expanse of the Mediterranean sea and on the other, stands the picturesque village of Agios Nikolaos. Artists Caitlind R.C. Brown and Wayne Garrett — who are also a couple in real life, they quickly clarify within minutes of introducing themselves — have just returned from a swim in the ocean.
Nothing adventurous to report? Oh wait, they spotted a baby shark in the waters. Aptly enough, Steven Spielberg's Jaws
Visitors at the opening reception to launch Chronotopia at Minos Palace Resort in Agios Nikolaos
Installed at the influential Greek art patron Gina Mamidakis' Minos Palace Resort in Crete, Chronotopia looks out into the Mediterranean sea with glee and as a piece of interactive art, it demands that you engage with it. The title Chronotopia
combines the Greek terms, chrono (time) and topos (space) but Brown insists that she likes the neologism for another reason — its phonetic similarities to her favourite word, "utopia". How about Chrono-utopia, then, a dream combo of time and space in a galaxy far, far away? We laugh heartily.Made using hundreds of discarded optical lenses, Chronotopia is a meditation on the illusion of vision and perception, urging us to embrace multiple perspectives because the nature of reality is complex and there’s no singular way of seeing the world. There never is. Based in Calgary (Canada), Brown and Garrett have a soft corner for found objects, especially prescription eyeglass lenses and they have produced a series of similar sculptures before in Japan, China and Turkey.
“When used as a sculptural material, prescription eyeglass lenses become devices for re-seeing, a shift in focus that evokes human vision, while simultaneously feeling organic (like rain, water, or light). In this sense, lenses are at the intersection between people (and our ways of seeing) and the natural world,” argued Brown.
The installation Chronotopia explores perception and vision
Chronotopia marks a major milestone in the pair’s over decade-and-a-half long career. In June, this human-scale installation was chosen as a winner of this year’s prestigious G. & A. Mamidakis Foundation Art Prize. Earning the Art Prize was admittedly an unexpected twist in the trajectory of their art practice. Now in its sixth year, the Mamidakis Foundation has always sought proposals for its Art Prize to integrate organically into the Cretan landscape.
The prize was envisioned by its founder, the renowned Greek hotelier Gina Mamidakis, as a creative environment where artists could express themselves freely and support would be provided with genuine passion. She started with a pioneering art symposium in the late 1980s which eventually evolved into the Art Prize — in the process, Mamidakis also ended up amassing an enviable collection of contemporary art. Though Brown and Garrett had never visited Crete before applying, they explained that the island's quintessential light, space, water and blue horizons mesmerised them from day one. Crete, then, became an ideal backdrop for their work.
“We were drawn to the Prize not because it was an award, but because it was an opportunity to create a site-responsive artwork in the context of Crete,” said Brown, whose work will now join G. & A. Mamidakis Foundation’s permanent collection which includes such art-world heavy hitters as Lynda Benglis, Costas Varotsos and Danae Stratou, to name a few.
Canada-based artist couple Caitlind Brown and Wayne Garrett pose with their latest work Chronotopia at Minos Palace Resort in Agios Nikolaos
Crete has always loomed large in their collective imagination. They described themselves as “mythology-obsessed kids” who grew up with fanciful dreams of Greek gods and goddesses. “Even in photographs you can tell this island is haunted by heroes, gods, and epic tales. The ever-changing sea is so powerful and primordial — much bigger than we are as creatures of blood and bone. Chronotopia
Perpetual Nowness of Being Alive
Brown and Garrett belong to that select group of avant-garde artists who thrive by operating outside the traditional art ecosystem. They have carved a niche for themselves, thanks to an unconventional approach that sees them often exhibiting in alternative spaces, ranging from public libraries and public parks to forests, parking lots and abandoned buildings. Which is why Greece was an unusual conquest for them. To critically engage with a very different crowd of art lovers, journalists, thinkers, curators and historians offered them new perspectives about their own work and its place in the world. “The opportunity to present our work in this arts-specific context feels like a bridge between the site-responsive work we are already making, and the larger discourse surrounding contemporary art now,” said Garrett.
The couple, who began their careers producing experimental films, often work on projects that combine technological sophistication and scientific rigour with poetic sensitivity. Like Chronotopia
Tears of the Moon in China by Caitlind Brown and Wayne Garrett