EXHIBITION: Nicole Kelly Westman: a slight space amidst

April 11, 2019 - April 20, 2019

Curated by Steffanie Ling
An Off Screen Presentation of the 2019 Images Festival

Critical Distance is pleased to co-present Nicole Kelly Westman: a slight space amidst in partnership with the 2019 Images Festival. a slight space amidst is a video installation that exists in the threshold between a screening and an exhibition. A secluded space just beyond sheer partitions, you determine the duration of your viewing as the film loops. Capturing arrested light and moments that meld and mesh, the film echoes the wavering movements proposed by the installation’s materiality: sheer silk curtains that partition here and there, before and after, daylight and nocturne.

A synthesized sound reverberates to the shrill of whipping wind, accented by pelting wetness. Quivering light is interrupted by a quiet melancholy of fluttering darkness that is both contained and expanding beyond the crop of the screen. a slight space amidst offers an invitation to consider the fragmentation of binaries; the tranquility of distraction; and intimacy, as you remain on that side, and I on the other.

So, what for the spaces between, where the lines have been drawn?
Where the drapes have been drawn by trembling hands.
Where the sunsets are no longer seen, but the warmth is still felt through a vivid hue. 
What for the act of participating so pathetically that all is lost or at least lousy? 

—Nicole Kelly Westman

Opening Reception: April 10th, 6 pm
Join us for this celebratory event to kick off the Images Festival and give a warm welcome Calgary-based artist Nicole Kelly Westman. A free poster/pamphlet with text by Daniella Sanader will be available for visitors to take, while supplies last (limit one per person).



Images is an artist driven festival that expands traditional definitions and understandings of media art by experimenting with a multiplicity of artistic forms. Images presents, promotes and pushes the boundaries of contemporary moving image culture. See https://imagesfestival.com for more information.


image: Nicole Kelly Westman, a slight space amidst (still), 2019

About the Artist(s)

Nicole Kelly Westman

Nicole Kelly Westman is a visual artist of Métis and Icelandic descent. She grew up in a supportive home with strong-willed parents—her mother, a considerate and creative woman, and her father, an anonymous feminist. Her work culls from formative years for insight and inspiration as she takes care to remediateFind out more