Installations — Adria Mirabelli

I Feel it all Again, at Once
Site Specific Installation, Dye sublimation prints on silk, hand cut vinyl, The Artist Project 2017, Better Living Centre, February 2017

Pulling inspiration from Gaston Bachelard’s text “The Poetics of Space” printed silk and hand cut vinyl drawings play with the phenomenological concept of the lived experience of architecture. The drawings are created in reaction to a personal archive of photographs, mementos and poems.

Images Courtesy of Jennifer Rose Sciarrino

Roses (Sprawling) 1 & 2, Dye Sublimation Prints on Silk, 42'' x 96'', 2017 — Roses (Sprawling) 1 & 2, Dye Sublimation Prints on Silk, 42'' x 96'', 2017

Roses (Sprawling) 1 & 2, detail, Dye Sublimation Prints on Silk, 42'' x 96'', 2017 — Roses (Sprawling) 1 & 2, detail, Dye Sublimation Prints on Silk, 42'' x 96'', 2017

Roses (Sprawling) 2, detail, Dye Sublimation Prints on Silk, 42'' x 96'', 2017 — Roses (Sprawling) 2, detail, Dye Sublimation Prints on Silk, 42'' x 96'', 2017

Flora (you), Hand cut vinyl, detail, 55" x 122", 2017 — Flora (you), Hand cut vinyl, detail, 55" x 122", 2017

Flora (you), Hand cut vinyl, detail, 55" x 122", 2017 — Flora (you), Hand cut vinyl, detail, 55" x 122", 2017

Flora (you), Hand cut vinyl, 55" x 122", 2017 — Flora (you), Hand cut vinyl, 55" x 122", 2017

Roses (Sprawling) 3 & Roses (Daze), Dye Sublimation Prints on Silk, 42'' x 96'', 2017 — Roses (Sprawling) 3 & Roses (Daze), Dye Sublimation Prints on Silk, 42'' x 96'', 2017

Roses (Sprawling) 3 & Roses (Daze), Detail, Dye Sublimation Prints on Silk, 42'' x 96'', 2017 — Roses (Sprawling) 3 & Roses (Daze), Detail, Dye Sublimation Prints on Silk, 42'' x 96'', 2017

Roses (Sprawling) 3 & Roses (Daze), Detail, Dye Sublimation Prints on Silk, 42'' x 96'', 2017 — Roses (Sprawling) 3 & Roses (Daze), Detail, Dye Sublimation Prints on Silk, 42'' x 96'', 2017

Bloom, detail, Hand cut vinyl, 55" x 122", 2017 — Bloom, detail, Hand cut vinyl, 55" x 122", 2017

Bloom, detail, Hand cut vinyl, 55" x 122", 2017 — Bloom, detail, Hand cut vinyl, 55" x 122", 2017

Bloom, Hand cut vinyl, 55" x 122", 2017 — Bloom, Hand cut vinyl, 55" x 122", 2017

Actual Love
dye sublimation prints on silk, hand cut vinyl, copper pipe, Samuel J Zacks Gallery, October - November 2016

Actual Love refers to the most important and unwavering love worth cultivating which is self love. The florals represent stages of being in love, - of buds, spring, the daze of love, high summer and finally of the end. Flora is metaphor in these drawings, St. John's wort representing self healing, almond blossoms representing spring, hemp leaves in daze. At the heart of this project is a personal exploration of love, - the experience of loving others and loving oneself. The project explores nostalgic longing for another person, for another time, for another version of yourself. "Free written" poems accompany the drawings, acting as explorative points of process.

Images Courtesy of Yuula Benivolski

States of Being (collaborative project with Yana Verba)
dye sublimation prints on silk, acrylic, muslin, XPACE Cultural Centre, 2016

In the realm of the window display, impressions of absence and presence are felt at once. Glass separates the viewer from the world created inside, and what follows is a sense of vacancy – time is at a stand still. A feeling of longing follows, longing to enter, and longing to acquire what sits inside. States of Being pulls from various places in time – referencing personal archives and specific art historical moments. Through the process of collecting, preserving and manipulating, these histories become distorted and are reimagined in the present. In the installation, moments in time and relationships that are no longer accessible are given space to exist.

Images courtesy of Yuula Benivolski

Holding (Flora)
site specific window installation, dimensions variable, hand cut vinyl, felt, chain, Cutler and Gross, Toronto, April - May 2018

Taking up space (girls I haven’t met yet)
hand drawn wallpaper, ink, dimensions variable, XPACE Cultural centre, May 2016

At a young age the phrase “Don’t take up too much space” became a powerful mantra within my life. The familiar pressure to be small crept over me, the idea transforming into a promise made to myself. To be ’good’ meant to be physically small of course, but also demure, quiet, unassuming, and polite. I went through years believing that my self worth was directly linked to how closely I could keep this promise: could I be smaller? When could I get there? What would it cost me? It took years for this phrase to lose its power and for this negative hymn to transform into another, - of being valid, of being worthy and most importantly, of being whole.

This room embraces the idea of taking up space, with the walls lined with faces of girls unafraid of this concept. The faces on these walls represent girls I haven’t met yet, or maybe I have, - they are blind contour drawings not based on any one person. Each face was drawn by hand, so no two girls are exactly the same. We invite you to spend as little or as much time as you’d like in the room, feel free to sit on the floor, have a drink and enjoy it, you deserve to be here.

Images courtesy of Carly Hunt (shot on 35mm film)

Spring Abundance
site specific window installation, 62'' x 120'' (per window), white vinyl, The Drake Hotel, May 2017 - September 2017

Hand cut vinyl depicts sprawling motifs of peonies, wild roses, St. Johns Wort, Tulips, Daffodils and Orchids. Created custom for the three main exterior windows of The Drake Hotel.

Some Attempt at rendering my fears of y(our) falling apart
hand cut neoprene, drawing ink, charcoal, pencil, acrylic paint, Gallery 1313 window space, 2016

I see time as an entity to which I am consistently in conflict, - I dream for time to move slower, quicker, I am at odds with myself in my attempts to manipulate time. At moments when sleep fails to come I feel as though I am a slave to time, only able to float in a strange state of being, of in between. I cut drawings into cloth and imagine a world where time has to effect on us.

reimagined phenomena (fractals)
digital and hand drawing, collage, dimensions variable, 2014 - 2015

Inspired by images of decaying and regenerating plant life collected between 2013 - 2014, the following series of drawings were created to function as repeat patterns. Focusing on microscopic patterns found in this natural ephemera, these drawings seek to reference the tactile presence of decay and regrowth. Using a combination of digital and hand rendering, these drawings exist as reimagined phenomena, - not direct representations, but interpretations of nature. Printed at any size or format the drawings repeat infinitely as the image quality slowly deteriorates.

AdriaMirabelli_+1_Regenerative+Drawing_2014.jpg

Light bath
hand cut vinyl, chain, LED lights, dimensions variable, Akin Vitrine Gallery, March 2017

On view 24/7, time is an entity of interest inside the vitrine space. The vitrine offers a brief escape into another world, - one which extends as long as the viewer chooses to stand in front of it. Winter can feel long and restless and it is during these times that we often consider time with a heightened awareness. The days are shorter, and we desperately try to hold onto the light that escapes us. Cut from white vinyl, sprawling floral drawings fill the vitrine space with motifs of St. John’s wort, lavender flowers, hemp leaves, wild roses and peonies, which are often regarded for their healing properties in combatting anxiety, depression and restlessness. The drawings are projected with soft beams of coloured light, which are controlled remotely from the artist’s iPhone. Created and installed during the peak of winter, this installation seeks to be a place of visual escape and as an affirmation of the importance of self care.