Unique art show coming to downtown Sarnia

An art show coming to Sarnia next week is a veritable mishmash of childhood whimsy like you’ve never seen it before.

The Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery will feature To the Unseen Future, a remixed collection of art inspired by science fiction, vintage hip-hop culture and video games, starting Nov. 2. It’s the brainchild of James Kirkpatrick, a London artist with a penchant for the unusual.

The art — complete with masks, sails, and other so-called “kit-bashed” sculptures — will be complimented by music from Awards and a video compilation of some of Kirkpatrick’s work. One large art piece, now in its final stage after more than a year of work, can be manipulated by gallery-goers to play retro-themed, electronic music.

“For me when I was a little kid, getting up and making art was the best thing ever,” Kirkpatrick said. “Getting up, Saturday morning cartoons, making art.”

Kirkpatrick’s work has been featured in Sarnia before; during workshops in 2012 and again through a small show one year later. This exhibit focuses more on his work as a visual artists; the enigmatic London native also does work as Thesis Sahib, half of the international hip-hop duo Awards.


The art embodies Kirkpatrick’s perspective on arts and culture, especially science fiction and counter-culture: specifically graffiti art and 90s hip-hop music.

“For me it’s all about cross-inspiration,” Kirkpatrick said. “We talk about this all the time, you know — everyone brings their experience to a story.”

Kirkpatrick himself will be at the gallery for the opening Nov. 2 and again Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. to talk about the artwork in his exhibition. There will also be elements of his music and videography incorporated in the exhibit.

To the Unseen Future runs until Jan. 6.

By Louis Pin, The London Free Press
October 30, 2018

Original Article