Tyler Los-Jones
the knots of the net
Nov 19 – Jan 8, 2022
It is with great pleasure that Norberg Hall presents the knots of the net a new body of work by Tyler Los-Jones. The title of this exhibition and work makes reference to a phrase in the short story, “Hand, Cup, Shell,” by Ursula K. LeGuin. With this exhibition, the artist continues his interest in mountain ecology, and has directed his focus towards various tenacious and compelling alpine wildflowers. Through a critical approach to the photographic medium, Los-Jones attempts to disrupt the qualities of the photograph itself, reconfiguring familiar scenes of beauty found in abundance throughout the Rockies.
Artist in attendance Dec 4 | 1-5 pm
Masks mandatory, vaccination required 
personal space respected.
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In the summer of 2020 as the national lockdown persisted, the artist set out to engage with the myriad species of wildflowers found in the Rocky Mountains. Through an intricate process, the artist produced photographs which were then modified into the form of a net. The shapes and patterns of each flower species were meticulously studied, looking for ways each flower could be represented through a folded form reminiscent of their identifying marks and held together symbiotically, linked together to form a net. Some of the flowers who influenced this work are:
Arnica | Aster | Castilleja | Moss Campion | Shooting Star | Yellow Lady’s Slipper | Calypso Orchid | Glacier Lilly | Western Anemone | White Geranium | Grass of Parnassus
Brilliant flashes of lavender, fuchsia and violet, glimmers of white and sunshine yellow emerge as the eye traverses the picture plane. These glimpses of the wildflowers peak through the graceful folds of each artwork, cascading across the net As an object, the net connects and weaves, holds weight, yet is also porous. The open spaces or gaps in its structure encompass missing information from the photographs, a reminder that human knowledge and photographic authority are always incomplete. The complexity of the net allows for a translation of the interconnectivity and interspecies support and care in the diverse ecosystems of mountain environments.
Playful and rendered with profound attention, the knots of the net demonstrates the deep curiosity and respect Los-Jones holds for the place where he lives and works. This immense and visually complex body of work sees the artist further challenge established historical methods long associated with the photographic medium while pushing his exploration of intricate/interconnected ecosystems through his deepening sense of appreciation and gratitude for his subject.
If a fold is synonymous to an embrace, the knots of the net encompasses many thousands, enfolding each species of flora in reverence and deep appreciation.
This exhibition opens the viewer to an opportunity to look slowly at the aesthetics and power of wildflowers, a genus perhaps overlooked, missed or unseen in the highest reaches of mountain passes. The work reminds the viewer to tread lightly, move slowly, and recognize our complex entanglement with the world as a way to survive in the calamity of post-pandemic life.
– Maeve Hanna | Art Writer
Los-Jones and this new body of work are deeply informed and indebted to the land which is part of the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta. Treaty 7 was signed in 1877 and encompasses the traditional territory of the Stoney Nakoda Nations of Chiniki, Wesley and Bearspaw; three Nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy: the Pikani, Kainai and Siksika; and the Tsuut’ina First Nations. Treaty 7 territory is also shared with the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III. This area has also been frequented by the Ktunaxa and the Maskwacis people from before the signing of treaty 7 and the development of provincial boundaries. The artist and the team at Norberg Hall would like to share our deep gratitude and thanks for this place and those who continue to steward it.
Tyler Los-Jones produces objects and images from his home in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. The work he has produced over the past decade aims to complicate inherited assumptions of environments by bringing the unnatural aspects of the western conception of nature to the forefront. Los-Jones is fascinated by the role photography plays in the production and the fulfillment of our expectations for environments.
Since graduating from the Alberta College of Art and Design (now Alberta University for the Arts) in 2007, Tyler Los-Jones’ photographic and sculptural work has been exhibited extensively across Canada and in the US. Recent exhibitions include Look slowly and all that moves at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, (Charlottetown) and a slow light which exhibited at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery (Lethbridge) and Division Gallery (Toronto). Los-Jones has been commissioned to produce multiple large-scale public artworks including, A panorama protects it’s views for the Art Gallery of Alberta (Edmonton) and To Keep the Promise at the Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel. Los-Jones has received several grants and awards including a 2019 research and creation grant from Canada Council for the Arts and the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award in 2016. The artist’s work is included in permanent collections including TD Canada Trust, Royal Bank of Canada, Alberta Foundation of the Arts, and the Government of Canada Department of Foreign Affairs.
Some Instructions for Folding Perception
text by Amanda White
Amanda White (she/her) is a scholar, artist, mother and settler of Scottish and Irish descent living in Tsi Tkarón:to/Toronto. Amanda is currently a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Sustainable Curating in the Department of Visual Art at Western University. Her work sits at the intersection of art, environment and cultural studies with a current focus on plants. Amanda has exhibited and published her work with support from SSHRC, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council among others, her ongoing works-in-progress include several collaborative and solo studio-based projects, a forthcoming co-edited book and a graphic novel.
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