Chains

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The Arty Crowd funding sources require inclusion of members who identify as belonging to priority groups encompassing: Indigenous, ethnocultural communities, rural or remote residents, youth, and Francophones (english and french). Hamilton Arts Council further wants to measure its success in attracting members from all the diverse groups we serve in the Greater Hamilton Area arts community, including those who are LGBTQ2S+, and persons with disabilities. We will use the aggregates of the information collected here to measure our success in making The Arty Crowd an accessible and safe space for all who join. We thank the members of the committee from the Safer Spaces Project who advised us in creating an inclusive self-identification process.

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All profile holders must live or work in Hamilton, Ancaster, Dundas, Flambourough, Glanbrook, Stoney Creek, Waterdown, Six Nations of the Grand River.

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Biography / Artistic Statement / Creative Vision

Chains is a transdisciplinary artist practicing traditional fine craft to produce modern objects of necessity; such as a blanket, chair or sweater. Items are made from post consumer materials, and cleaned or treated to regenerate their functionality. No machinery or unnatural substances are used in production, while artistry and quality are prioritized to create items of singularity. Each one is distinctly contemporary in appeal and useful as such, yet originating entirely outside our linear materials economy. Counter to modern manufacturing systems, the artistic process is slow, methodical and impossible to reproduce or duplicate.

To exhibit the contrast, detailed documentation of the entire production—from intention and technique, to materials and labor—are made publicly and permanently available through blockchain publishing (decarbonized non fungible tokens).

In this way, visibility holds the artist and the buyer accountable to one another in the enhancement of the social and ecological fecundity of the community. Both the artwork and the production record, go beyond economics as a mode of preservation and transmittance of knowledge and techniques.

Rooted in an intimate understanding of industrial manufacturing models and mass marketing, Chains draws upon experience from over fifteen years of employment as a commercial creative director. During this period, she accepted employment from companies lacking civic responsibility.

Presently, she acknowledges this ecological and social debt to society as motivation to atone. The pseudonym, Chains, represents the artist’s opposition to commercialization and defection from the system.

Please visit the Projects portion of my website to learn about my previous independent projects: https://www.chainshardcore.com/projects

Currently based in Hamilton, my current art practice is in participation with the downtown community. Hamilton's socio-economic status, and environmental degradation due to industry makes the city an ideal location for the expression and exploration art activism.

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