Feature of the week: Felt Artist Ellen Bleiwas

Passage No. 160501-1
Ellen Bleiwas

Project Type: Installation
Date: January-May 2016
Affiliated Institution: Art Gallery of York University
Material Used: F-1 Industrial Felt off cuts, 3/8"-1/2" thick

In collaboration with The Felt Store, York University student and independent designer Ellen Bleiwas came up with a concept that was developed for a local curatorial intensive exhibition with an underlying theme of "After Great Pain, A Formal Feeling Comes" at the Gales Gallery at York University.

In her own words Ellen explains how this installation depicts the underlying theme of this art exhibition . 

"Passage No. 160501-1  is an immersive installation that takes interest in the relationship between the passage of one's body through the space and psychological change of state. Long strips of industrial felt are stacked vertically and hung on an aluminum frame, creating thick felt walls that carve out a rectiiliner spiral- like form. The interior passageway is a narrow enclosure, tightly enveloping a viewer as (s)he enters. This enclosure induces sensory deprivation- sound is increasingly muffled as one moves further towards the center, and the view towards the outside world is cut off. This experience seeks to precipitate a gradual disconnection from one's immediate context, and a gradual heightened awareness of self in a space of solitude."

Her installation is up until May 13! If you are near York University do pay Ellen a visit! Or visit her website www.ellenbleiwas.com.