There’s a certain amount of pride and self-satisfaction in taking on a D.I.Y. (do-it-yourself) project - something many Calgarians were wont to do, especially during early COVID lockdowns. 

For Calgary artists Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett, their ethos is more along the lines of D.I.W.O. - do it with others. And as such, their work embodies a spirit of collaboration and community - a challenge in a year where the mandate is to be farther apart.

The collaborators may best be known for their involvement in 2013’s Wreck City, in which local artists created interactive installations in soon-to-be-demolished houses in Calgary, as well as 2014’s Solar Flare, what Garrett calls, “a hubristic attempt at making a sun sculpture,” and 2018’s Carbon Copy, the installation of a sky blue 1988 Plymouth Caravelle, glitch-dissected, and planted nose-first into the ground in Edmonton’s Brewery District.

Photo Courtesy of the Artists

Most recently, the two have been curating The Hibernation Project, now in its third year.

Over the 12-week, art-making marathon, a new theme is introduced each week, with an open invitation for local artists to participate. Past events have included a wooden pallet sculpture bonfire, a build-your-own-toboggan race, and the Hibernational Gallery, a Zoom-led “museum” tour - this year’s theme being a VIP grand re-opening gala.

“It’s sort of thumbing its nose,” laughs Brown. “But we’re very aware that we’ve participated in those spaces actively.”

Brown and Garrett also teamed up with local artist Lane Shordee to collaborate on the Wandering Island project, revitalizing a neglected park space on the Elbow River where permanent infrastructure such as benches, stairs, and stepping stones were installed this past year, and seasonal artwork will gradually be added throughout 2021 and 2022.

Photo Courtesy of the Artists

Revitalization has been an unexpected undercurrent this year, as the Deep Dark installation from their Banff Centre residency in 2015 was moved to the Havremagasinet länskonsthall gallery in Boden, Sweden. The gallery curator was drawn to the haunting LED-illuminated door frames as an analogy for the deep darkness of living through a pandemic.

Solar Flare was also rekindled in late 2020. 

Originally commissioned in 2013 by the Calgary Downtown BIA, it hung over the Stephen Avenue walkway, extending the “golden hour” of sunlight during the darkest days of winter. This year it was repurposed and rehoused - literally - in Brown and Garrett’s Ramsay yard.

“Honestly, it was probably one of the most effective public artworks we’ve ever done,” said Brown of the positive community response to such a brilliantly hopeful installation.

“It seemed so effective, you know? Exactly what it was intended for. When it was installed in downtown Calgary, it also had its own magic, and in fact, some people recognized it from there and specifically sought it out in our yard.”

Photo Courtesy of the Artists

Both artists say the past year has been about leveraging what immediate mediums you have to work with, and maximizing the space around you - in a way that connects community and inspires autonomy.

“When you do install work in a public space, you’re not always around it or you’re not attached to the space like you want,” said Garrett. “If people are interacting with the work, it goes largely unnoticed by the artist. When it’s inside your living space, you’re much more connected to the environment that it’s in.”