120" x 72" x 12"
Vinyl, spray paint, gold leaf, plexiglass, LED lighting, aluminum
2023
What Is Jackson Square? explores the paradox that exists in truth and storytelling, spefifcally how “truth” is a matter of perspective. The artist examines storytelling by breaking it down into imagined visuals, shown here as layered imagery that overlaps and either highlights or obscures other imagery in the overall narrative.
The inspiration behind What Is Jackson Square? can be traced back to a painting from the I Used to Hate This City collection featuring one of Hamilton's most iconic landmarks - Jackson Square - a place that's long past it's glory days and has become more of a throughfare for commuters, instead of the affluent shopping mall and community hub it used to be.
Like the space itself, this sculpture communicates a sense of overwhelming discomfort with its sharp edges and jarring lighting. The various layers represent the many identities the space embodies, as well as the varied clientele it attracts.
Brushstrokes and markings were created using cleaning tools like sponges and broom bristles as a reference to the city’s ongoing attempt to “clean up” Jackson Square, which ironically has resulted in the alienation of a large group of working-class individuals who never wanted to space to change.
The original painting from 2021 that inspired this piece (shown in last image) was called She Was Always There - a play on words that demonstrates an abstracted interpretation of a series of photographs the artist found where she was in the background of every photograph her ex-partner took of her, not important enough to be featured as the main subject (while her ex-partner's mistress was), and yet, she was not cropped out of view entirely. The reference "She Was Always There" points to both the mistress and the artist herself, both key players in the artist's life story. This painting later became the background of the painting Jackson Square in reference to the blue collar people of the city who built Jackson Square up to what it is today only to be left behind in the housing market by gentrifying communities, but they're still an important part of community and arguably are responsible for making Hamilton the city it is today.
LaCaria challenges how "truth" can be lost/omitted/forgotten in the process of storytelling by physically presenting this sculpture with multiple panels featuring layers imagery. This sculpture is LaCaria's attempt to come to terms with the idea that there is no such thing as “ truth”, only perspective that can vary from day to day, change over years, and be skewed by memory, hearsay and narrator.
The artist invites the viewer to view this piece from both sides while encouraging the observer to consider how the imagery from each “side” of the “story” changes every time it's viewed. Depending on time of day, lighting, viewer’s height, viewer’s eye sight, etc, there are certain parts of the panels remain invisible while other imagery is glaringly obvious. The story changes as the viewer navigates around the piece and changes their physical perspective.
The What Is Jackson Square? was commissioned for Hamilton Winterfest 2023 - an outdoor winter festival comprised of several large-format sculptures and installations that are accessible to free public viewing. It was initially exhibited on the rooftop of Jackson Square for the duration of the outdoor winter festival and is weather-safe. Watch the making of What Is Jackson Square? here.
*This piece is currently available for short term or long term rent for exhibition at outdoor festivals (fully weather proof, requires access to power outlet) or for indoor display in commercial/hospitality spaces, hotel/condo lobby. Please send inquires here for availability and rental rates.
*Setup and teardown pricing starts at CAD$1,750.00*