Biography

Danica Olders is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist working in Montreal. Currently pursuing a masters degree at Concordia University with the support of the Dale & Nick Tedeschi Studio Arts Fellowship, Olders is a graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (2011). Through sculpture, painting, textiles and constructed forms, Olders explores the concept of space. She is particularly interested in analyzing a person’s position within a given space and the narratives that can be imposed and created through unique combinations of interactivity and illusion.

As an artist, I am interested in the concept of space—the space between people, the distance from an individual to their surrounding walls and objects, and the sense of ownership experienced in personal spaces with its accompanying interactive energy. I activate narratives by designing environments where movement through space is part of the work itself. I often work with everyday objects (chairs, doorways, architecture), subverting them slightly or repositioning them as obstacles.

My goal is to understand, question and experience space, my place in the world and the world as a place (or space) itself. There are histories, legends and myths associated with space as life shifts and builds within it. Places are erased and rewritten as time moves forward. Using constructed forms, ceramic, textile and painting as elements within installation, I explore the public versus private mythologies inherent to spatial experience. Through installation, reality is manipulated for self-reflection and critique, a space created where life can be re-enacted and re-addressed.

Surrender (2023)

The body acts autonomously, driven by the memory of repeated sequences of movement. Much like a self-driving car, routines enable the mind to wander, as the body instinctively knows its way. Routines create a space for daydreaming, and this freedom fosters a strong attachment, making routines challenging to change, break, or unlearn. People, by nature, become territorial due to their dependence on established routines. As the body is bound to remembered sequences of movement, a sense of ownership develops, producing a desire to protect centers of home and established routes, often overpowering the inclination for new experiences. Surrender delves into the exploration of routines, centers, and the practices of everyday life, seeking to understand what drives humans to claim spaces and appropriate places, and questioning the possibility of change.

Coding and mechanical construction by William Olders.