Michael Freeman Badour & Liam Crockard

PROJECT SPACE

Roberta Pelan is pleased to present, Heatsink. A two person exhibition at Topless Projects.

This is what heat looks like. The disheartening electrical heat produced by the condensing of information. Within our smart technologies data integrity and the efficiency of exchange is at risk with such heat. Our dematerialized world is a vast landscape of micro-furnaces that burn our .ZIPs. Central processing units rely on tiny heatsinks just to keep this information from destroying itself. Like an electric blanket, heatsinks emit waves of energy away from the coordinates of information exchange to maintain optimal operating temperatures. Whether passive or active, the heatsink's sole concern is with the redistribution of heat.

An active heat exchanger, this is the artist today. Negotiating how to redistribute the heat and energy produced through the condensing of information. First as a passive recipient within professionalized institutions, then as an active heat exchanger, slowing down information exchange, thereby cooling it. By reworking and reanimating modern designs with pails of wood and glue and discarded wood scraps, initial core concepts remain but with new finish, a new vernacular. One that causes hesitation within those quick to ascribe meaning. The rapacious consumption of information is slowed and core temperatures remain optimal.

The exchange must be active, reworking established concepts of the recent past, breaking them down and building them back up. Passivity is the role of the repeater. The repeater receives and retransmits. The artist avoids this, allowing distortion to effect their signal. By archiving the processes at play within information exchange the infobahn can take form. The archive incorporates the bi-products of exchange which distorts its image. We may have to squint if we want to make out this picture but this too cooling and will allow us to keep a little closer to the fire.

Michael Freeman Badour (b. 1987) received a BFA from the OCADU in 2014 and was awarded the Drawing and Painting medal. Recent exhibitions include Baker’s Dozen, CK2 Gallery, New York; SkyLink,http://skylink.work/, Toronto; and What year is it?, http://whatyearisit.space/, Toronto; Badour’s first solo exhibition will open in August at Roberta Pelan in Toronto. Since 2014 Badour has co-run Carrier Arts, a nomadic exhibition platform which aims to re-contextualize art with experimental programming in private, public and online spaces. Badour is a Canadian-Irish citizen and currently lives and works in Toronto, Canada.

Liam Crockard (b. 1986) received a BFA from the OCADU in 2010. He has shown his work extensively in Canada, The United States and abroad. Most recently Crockard had a 2016 solo exhibition at Cooper Cole in Toronto. His work and writing have been featured in The Age of Collage Catalogue, Border Crossings, Canadian Art, Secret Behaviour and Elephant Magazine. Complimentary to his practice, Crockard co-runs The Loon in Toronto with Aleksander Hardashnakov. In addition to regular exhibitions, The Loon has a residency program to foster local relationships with international artists, and house-made tea or broth is served during openings. Crockard currently lives and works in Toronto, Canada.