This month at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, toss your past through a paper shredder and watch it become part of something beautiful.
New exhibit The Clearing transforms a simple shipping container into an interactive art exhibition at the Agnes’ off-site gallery in the Rideau Building. The work was created by Kingston-based artists Marney McDiarmid and Clelia Scala, with contributions from poet Sadiqa de Meijer, sound designer Matt Rogalsky, and painter Lee Stewart. From Sept. 19 until Nov. 9, the immersive installation invites visitors to slow down and participate in cycles of release and regeneration.
The exhibition features sculptures made of clay, paper, and natural materials used to transform a shipping container, displaying the role art can play in regeneration. The container itself is covered in a vibrant mural by Stewart. Visitors are encouraged to bring personal documents to shred and add to the installation’s evolving ecosystem.
A vibrant exterior caught my eye from a distance, drawing me closer. As I approached, a faint audio trickled out, hinting at what awaited inside. At the entrance, a poem by de Meijer greeted me, formally welcoming visitors into the space.
De Meijer’s poetry, paired with the soundscape designed by Matt Rogalsky, formed the emotional and sensory core of the exhibition. In a written statement to The Journal, de Meijer said McDiarmid and Scala approached her and asked her to join the project. “I wanted to write a poem that was short, straightforward in its language, and would give viewers a sense of arrival at The Clearing, and an inkling of what awaits them inside,” de Meijer wrote.
For de Meijer, the project embodies a collective act of renewal. “The Clearing is such a beautiful and necessary invitation to pause, to take part in natural cycles, and reconnect with our sense of wonder,” she said.
Rogalsky, a Kingston-based sound artist, drew on field recordings of wildlife and electronic tones for his contribution. His soundscape merges environmental sounds of crickets, frogs, pebbles, and bells with ambient musical textures. “There’s a lazy rhythm to the piece which animates The Clearing, and electronic tones which sometimes recall passing insects in the summertime,” Rogalsky wrote in an e-mail statement to The Journal.
“The goal of my sonic contribution was to support the overall effect of the piece. We need more places of refuge, and this is one I was very happy to be involved with,” he said.
The naturalistic soundscape complemented the installation’s focus on nature as one such place of refuge. Inside, sculpted snails inched their way up the walls, birds were suspended in mid-flight, tree trunks rose from the floor, and patches of moss spread across the walls. These details orbited the installation’s central element: a thick layer of shredded paper which covered the floor, at times accumulating in soft drifts against the walls several inches tall.
Each paper shred comes from documents visitors have chosen to let go of, journal pages, old letters, unfinished thoughts. Before entering the exhibition, guests are presented with an electronic paper shredder and broom to shred and disperse their contributions to the piece. When I added an unsent letter of my own, I felt a catharsis in watching it disappear among hundreds of other fragments.
To me, this represents what The Clearing truly offers: a safe place to communally let go, basking in the shared catharsis of strangers. Stepping outside into the harsh sunlight, I felt I had the chance to begin again.
For those seeking renewal, The Clearing extends an open invitation to pause, find stillness, and step forward with relief.
Tags
Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Art, exhibit, installation, The Clearing
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