The Hunting Party
Shanell Papp
I laughed, I cried, I split my side
curated by Dagmara Genda
May to July, 2014
According to some theorists, laughter and tears are purely extra-emotional, physical responses.. They are limited signifiers of an excess of feeling that can fall on all levels of the emotional spectrum. In its most reduced form, laughter can be an automatic response to tickling inasmuch as tears can result from cutting an onion. Moreover, laughter and tears do not necessarily align with their respective positive and negative qualities. One may laugh from madness or despondency, just as one may cry tears of joy. I laughed, I cried, I split my side is the evocation of a horrible laugh, at once absurd and pained, funny and awful. Skirting the lines of discomfort, ridicule, and cynical self-deprecation, the exhibition explores the interstices of humour and horror. The space between the smile and grimace is collapsed.
Shanell Papp grew up in Southern Alberta and received her B.F.A. from the University of Lethbridge, in 2006 and completed her graduate studies at the University of Saskatchewan. Papp has shown her work in galleries across Canada and beyond, including University of Lethbridge (Lethbridge), University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon), The New Gallery (Calgary), Gallery Gachette (Vancouver) and the City of Craft (Toronto). Papp teaches sessionally at the University of Lethbridge and Curates for the Lethbridge Public Library. She also operates a popular Tumblog BAWDY.
