Photo: Alyssa Bornn, “Mary’s Hand Towel,” 2023. Altered composite flatbed scan. 44 x 70″.
The Riding Mountain Artists’ Residency gives Manitoban artists time to focus on their work in the beautiful natural setting of Riding Mountain National Park.
The next artist-in-residence for 2024 is Alyssa Bornn. Ahead of her time in the historic Deep Bay Cabin, Alyssa answered a few of our questions about her work and how she’ll be spending her residency.
MAC: Tell us a little about yourself as an artist and your practice.
Alyssa Bornn: I am a graduate of the School of Art (BFA Hons. 2019), a working artist, and occasional workshop facilitator. I predominantly make photo work, though I have a rather loose or open ended interpretation of what that may look like. I am interested in the intersections between different media, often using a mix of digital and analog photo processes as well as sculpture and textile works to explore my ideas and interests. For example, the project I am working on during this residency is in part about transposing digital images to grids, then using those grids as a working knitting pattern, while also using an alternative photo process as colour source.
Tell us about your project—what will you be working on in the Deep Bay Cabin?
During my residency I will be working on a series of Cyanotype studies on knitted wool surfaces. Cyanotype is a camera-less photo process commonly done by coating a surface, laying objects directly on to that surface, and then exposing this in the sun. The parts receiving the most exposure will be the deepest blue, while covered parts may stay white (or whatever the original surface colour was). I will use these principles as well as standard processes for pre-treating and dyeing natural fibres to coat and expose wool. The hope is to produce various shades of blue and then use this material to knit images. I will also knit a number of rectangular swaths of wool, coat them directly and make exposures on top of these surfaces.
What is your relationship with the park, and what are you most looking forward to exploring?
I went to Riding Mountain for the first time two summers ago, renting a cabin with a handful of close friends and a dog. It was incredible spending time in a different part of the province and I was awed by the beauty of it, beginning right from the drive in. I was taken by the variation in the landscape, the clear water, the forest trails, the wetland paths. I look forward to spending dedicated time making art outside in this environment, exploring the trails and generally being by water.
How do you hope the park will influence or inspire your project or practice?
The cyanotype process uses sunlight to make an exposure, so In some way the direct environment/conditions of the park will be embedded in the work. Beyond that, I look forward to being able to make this work outdoors and take inspiration from the natural environment, especially the light and water. I feel that being in the park will encourage me to slow down and lean into the tedious parts of the machine knitting process. I look forward to encountering new forms in the landscape that may make their way into the work.
What would you like the public and park staff to know about you and your work?
I’m friendly, please feel free to ask me any questions I love to talk about photo processes and knitting machines!
Anything else you’d like to share with readers and the Riding Mountain National Park community?
I was stranded in Argentina due to border closures in 2020. During this time I acquired a vintage knitting machine (and then a second) and taught myself how to machine knit following YouTube tutorials in Spanish. When I returned home a year later I brought both machines with me. I like to use them mostly as tools for graphic exploration “tapestry style” but I’ve also made sweaters and other garments on them.
The Riding Mountain Artists’ Residency is offered in partnership by the Manitoba Arts Council and Riding Mountain National Park.
Interested in the staying in the Deep Bay cabin? Find out how to apply to the Riding Mountain Artists Residency through the Learn – Residencies grant stream. Apply by January 15, 2025 for a residency in the summer of 2025.
