Christmas Tree: Extreme Makeover -- The Silent Auction
We would like to thank everyone who came out on Thursday night to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season at CO. And many thanks to the artists who generously agreed to be part of our Christmas Tree: Extreme Makeover project. They created an extraordinary collection of trees, which we were proud to show off.
The food was sensational, thanks to Anni Lawrence and her team (www.annilawrencecatering.com). The drinks also went down a treat! We rolled out the CO-tini, and it was a hit. Here's the recipe:
- 2 parts Iceberg vodka (distinctly Canadian)
- 1 part Hpnotiq (a cheeky French liquo, almost the perfect colour)
- A drop or two of Curacao Bleu (to adjust the colour)
- A good splash of Vermouth (because it's good)
Shaken, not stirred. Served on a little crushed ice with a garnish of wild blueberries.
Featured trees:
Ari Bayuaji: Java
To transform the Christmas tree for this project, I was inspired by nature. I am using vintage batik, a traditional hand-painted fabric from Indonesia. It is a fabric painted with motifs inspired by nature as such as stars, clouds, waves, and birds, in different colours. I hope this Christmas tree will bring joy and inspiration to keep a little place for nature in our everyday lives.
Size: 1 m. 83
Current bid: SOLD!
Michael Bishop: Big Brother
The intersecting planes in Milan’s A4Adesign's cardboard tree provided the point of departure for this project. Surveillance equipment and other devices that now typically adorn the walls of commercial and public establishments are reproduced and positioned on this Christmas tree. Big Brother is here to protect your presents; Big Brother is here to observe you...
Size: 1 m. 53
Current bid: SOLD!
Dagny Bock: Reflections on Christmas
What I like most about Christmas is how things start to sparkle. The lights sparkle. The snow sparkles. The wrapping paper sparkles. The cookies sparkle. And, of course, the trees sparkle. So, in using glass and mirror, which are materials I often use, I am hoping that the ambient light will be caught and make the tree shine and sparkle too. Shallow pleasures perhaps, but relatively simple ones too.
Size: 1 m. 53
Current bid: SOLD!
Guillaume Brisson-Darveau: Bijou
I transformed my Christmas tree by simplifying its form, with the use of straight lines. I then covered it in repetitive coloured forms, quickly, without thinking about it too much. This graphic composition, for me, evokes the feeling of high volume data flow and urban architecture, more so than typical Christmas decorations. On the other hand, the choice of colours and the form itself are amusing references to the ambience and magic of the holiday season.
Size: 1 m. 20
Current bid: SOLD!
Harlan Johnson: Entotree
This tree is a reflection on the ecology of the Christmas tree industry. An assortment of entomological characters that also make their living from the common tree species such as white pine, balsam fir and white spruce are featured. Cuddly critters such as Pine thrips, invasive Asian Longhorn beetles, Redhead Pine Sawflys, Spruce Budworm moths and other denizens of mono-culture Holiday tree stands are included. The inclusion of their botanical names presents them in a decoratively botanical way and is intended to dignify these co-citizens of the global food chain.
Size: 1 m. 53
Current bid: SOLD!
David Lafrance: L'arbre noir fortuné
Through the darkness of my Christmas tree, 32 hands appear, making a strange decoration. Adorned with jewels and bracelets, they form the elegant extremities of the branches of the tree. The hands represent the wealth of our country, in an illustrious display for the holiday season. My tree is a humorous caricature of a certain generation of men and women who sport these heavy ornaments, making their holiday-season wrists sore.
Size: 1 m. 83
Current bid: SOLD!
Amelia Robinson: Encore!
This is the story of a Christmas tree, brought into a home to be admired and loved and then disposed of. The tree has lives, each of which is of different value depending upon your particular interest. Similarly, those things in this story which come from trees are the result of human intervention and more valuable to those who made and consumed them than the trees from which they were made. And now they have become a tree again, to admire and to nestle presents against. Happy holiday season!
Size: 1 m. 53
Current bid: SOLD!
Michael Slack: Pic-bois
A Christmas tree in my household was always a very complicated adventure. I wanted to try and simplify the glowing beacon of little plastic balls, glitter, and presents of my childhood into something that better reflects what we are trying to do as a family today. It is no longer about mountains of toys and candy heaped under heavy branches. When everything is stripped away it is about a little piece of the natural world in our living room to gather around and adorn with small tokens of our love for one another.
Size: 1 m. 83
Current bid: SOLD!
Karine St-Arnaud: In your Bubble
Old toys piled up on one another in a church basement, a garage sale, a recycling centre. Old toys chosen, sorted, and assembled, to create a strange, fun and mysterious scene. A bunch of long stockings from the ‘70’s, found at a second-hand shop create miniature colourful canvases. Old telephone wires, reinstalled, keeps everything in touch. The result: bright Christmas bubbles for everyone, young and old. Every year, taking out the Christmas bubbles while listening to Bing Crosby or Madonna. Lighting up the tree at the end of the day, sipping egg-nog, or a martini. Making “Tuffles Porto” or “ragout de pattes de cochon” by the light of the tree. Being four, thirty-six, or sixty, and getting lost in your thoughts while putting the ornaments on your Christmas tree. Being told by your mother, partner or daughter: “You’re in your bubble, my love...” That’s what I wanted to recreate. Merry Christmas! This tree is dedicated to Stéphane St-Jean.
Size: 1 m. 83
Current bid: SOLD!
Ross Thompson: Christmas Pagoda
Just as the Silk Road historically linked East with West, this piece visually plays with the idea of bridging Eastern and Western cultures. Both Pagoda and Christmas trees are similar in form, wider at the base, becoming progressively narrower and culminating to one final point, aimed towards the sky. They are representations of the sacred and symbolise beacons for travelers. The four tiers of the silk and hemp panels are easily untied and can stored be flat along with the main cardboard support; ideal for wandering nomads. All materials used in this piece, with the exception of the LED lights and thread, are reclaimed from scrap bins.
Size: 1 m. 53
Current bid: SOLD!
Florence Victor: Nina
I was thinking of the meaning of Christmas, this idea of sharing and simplicity. I was inspired by the Russian soul (hence the name of my tree from Tchekhov’s play the Seagull), nostalgia and tradition and I thought of transforming my tree into a patchwork, recycling fabrics I already had.
Size: 1 m. 53
Current bid: SOLD!
Mackay Centre School: Happiness and Randomness
Two art classes from the Mackay Centre School for deaf and disabled children, under the initiative of their teacher, Daniel Wisebord, collectively decorated this tree, which they named “Happiness and Randomness.” These talented young artists ranged from 13 to 20 years of age.
The Mackay Center School promotes learning in an active and independent way undertaking projects that help students develop positive attitudes toward themselves and towards their community.
Size: 1 m. 53
Current bid: SOLD!