Union Gallery’s Relational Capital explores what it means to find wealth in connection, not dollars.
The exhibition will be on display in the gallery’s Project Room from Sept. 2 to Oct. 11, exploring human connection as a form of social currency. Its theme, “in this economy?!” references a meme that jokes the economy is too negative to take part in certain activities. Four emerging, Kingston-based artists collaborated on the exhibit, including Bree Rappaport, Caryn Wei Ya Xie, BEd ’25, Nathan Zhe, ArtSci ’27, and Sophia Herrington, BEd ’26.
Relational Capital grew out of the gallery’s Stronger Together Collaborative Residency, a summer program that encouraged the artists involved to develop responses to the theme “in this economy?!”.
For Herrington, the theme “in this economy?!” shaped both her process and the collaborative outcome. “We wanted to create something where all viewers can feel some connection to what’s in front of them,” she wrote in a statement to The Journal. “We’re all in this economy together, and I wanted to create something that represents that.”
Herrington found togetherness at Union Gallery’s Stronger Together Collaborative Residency, a summer program where Relational Capital’s four artists came up with ideas for the exhibit.
“All of the artists came from different backgrounds and places in life, so this was an interesting factor to consider when brainstorming ideas,” she wrote. “We all had our own perspective on the theme, and I feel we were able to do a great job meshing everything together.”
Zhe’s work was also heavily influenced by the residency. “I collaborated most closely with Bree Rappaport, as we shared an interest in experimenting with overhead projection,” Zhe wrote in a statement to The Journal. “Bree was a generous and insightful collaborator, and I’m especially grateful that my sound and lighting design could extend and complement her vision of the forest fire’s afterlife.”
As visitors move through the Project Room and engage with the exhibition installations, they’re invited to witness the creative relationships between the artists themselves and to reflect on the ways all of our relationships shape our experiences in this world.
Relational Capital blends current internet slang with lasting questions about relationships, making its contributions timely and timeless. According to Zhe, the exhibit relates themes of scarcity and resilience to strength in art and community.
“In times of crisis, everyday environments can feel both fragile and overwhelming,” Zhe said. “Creativity becomes a way to process and reframe these pressures.”
Tags
Art, student art, Union Gallery
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to eic@queensjournal.ca.