My work suggests metaphorical tools to dismantle oppressive systems

Stephanie Jonsson

Inspired by Audre Lorde’s declaration that “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house,” sculptor Stephanie Jonsson reclaims the practice of craft in order to offer a voice of dissent. In the gallery from August to December 2019 are two pieces from Jonsson’s Against the Patriarchy: Tools for the Revolution.

For Jonsson, explorations of craft and ornamentation are one way to think differently about the major challenges facing the world today. Artists, she reminds us, have a crucial role to play in pushing back against the recent surge of nationalist and populist political sentiment in the West. In “Emphasize Accountability,” Jonsson combines ceramics, metal, and crochet to create an uncanny object that pushes viewers to wonder how we might use the objects and ideas around us in surprising combinations and to radical ends.

Stephanie Jonsson (stephaniejonsson.com) is head sculpture technician at the University of Alberta. She holds a BFA from the U of A, and a MAA from Emily Carr University in Vancouver, BC. Her work has appeared in galleries including: Gallery of BC Ceramics, Bleeding Heart Art Gallery, The Alberta Craft Council, and the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Tennessee.

Join members of the department of Women’s and Gender Studies on Thursday November 28th as we welcome Stephanie Jonsson for an artist talk and reception. The talk will be held in Assiniboia Hall, room 1-26 at 3:30.

All are welcome.