Artist Statement

Collaborative rituals of kinship and care that disrupt the patriarchal narrative are the basis for my performances, installations, and work in textiles. I make visible and affirm forgotten or erased histories and ask, Do we dare to recall a past and envision a future distinct from war and money?  Drawing on the repetitive processes of making a life as my inspiration – cooking, cleaning, mending, mothering and talking to each other – I create work that invites a shift to what we value, uplift and remember.

For the past 20 years, I have made participatory works in rural Newfoundland. Textiles are an entry point because we all have a relationship to fabric and clothes. I tap into the tradition of gathering in groups to work with our hands and talk. Once people are comfortable, they have access to what might be tucked away, remembered less in the mind and more in the body. We take that up together - moving inwards to guide the process of creating something more outward and public. Humour is a device that helps us process these painful histories.  As we make and enact ritualized performances, the sting of the past becomes something else - less crushing and more of a much-needed jolt to stay awake. 

The collaborative nature of my work requires generating trust throughout the creative process. I have learned that I must move at the speed of trust, reaffirming it with participants all along the way. Only then can we share the rich, nuanced stories of our lives and imagine new more sustainable futures. I also must trust my ability to be fluid with the process while staying true to my vision so that we can make our most powerful works together. 

Bio/CV

Robyn Love (b. 1965) is an American-born artist who lives and works in Elmastukwek, Ktaqmkuk (Bay of Islands, Newfoundland), Canada. She received a BFA from Cooper Union in New York City in 1988. She has exhibited at galleries and museums internationally and has received numerous project grants to create new work from foundations and public agencies.  Her work in is collections around North America. Love’s site-specific projects include a New York City Percent for Art commission for the High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety in Jamaica, Queens, NY, a five km-long handmade installation in Cheongju, South Korea, and a large-scale, multimedia installation titled The House Museum in Ktaqmkuk. In 2017 THM transitioned into BARDO-29, an experimental contemporary art space hosting residencies and annual public programs.

Love received ArtsNL Project Grants in 2018, 2020 and 2022 and a Canada Council Project Grant in 2009. She has presented her participatory performance piece, SpinCycle, at The Brooklyn Museum in New York City, Northern University in Abderdeen, South Dakota, the ICCA in Inverness, NS, and as part of the Hold Fast Festival in St. John’s in 2021.  In 2017, she launched an online video series titled Small Things Brought Together, long format conversations exploring the creative process with artists from all disciplines. In 2021, Love presented Unhistoric Acts, a site-specific installation on two fish flakes in Bonavista, NL, as part of the Bonavista Biennale, curated by Matthew Hills and Patricia Grattan. Her current project is Jinker, is a multidisciplinary project happening in Newfoundland, Iceland and Scotland.

A full pdf version of her CV can be viewed or downloaded here.