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The Wordless Book and other sounds
Allen Ball

Fort Gallery is pleased to present The Wordless Book and other sounds, an exhibition by artist Allen Ball, whose work incorporates decorative arts, abstract symbolism and religious iconography, as well as cigarette papers, linoleum and non-Christian crosses, in an attempt to unpack the troubled colonial, racist church discourse of his childhood in London in the 1960s and 1970s.
 
The exhibition consists of paintings drawn from an ongoing series that interrogates the symbolic and associative power of colour through Victorian Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s The Wordless Book, which was designed as a Christian non-verbal evangelistic device using four colours to teach and colonize through the word of God. Alongside these works are six paintings that depict all ten digits of a Victorian set of hymn board psalm numbers, running from zero through nine. Only digits 2 and 3 appear together in this series to symbolize and explore Psalm 23 of the Book of Psalms.
 
Ball states: “Just as The Wordless Book and other sounds vacillate between church and gallery, thereby situating the viewer in a liminal space between ritual and motif, I explore these works with a choir. My hope is that the singing – and painting – of Psalm 23 in this exhibit constructs a liminal space between individual and community, artistic production and presentation, personal suffering and collective memorialization. Perhaps this collective gesture will highlight the tensions between religion, state, and the individual, and help guide me beyond the indoctrination and constraints of my own formative Christian education.”
 
Exhibition: April 1-May 7
Closing reception: Friday, May 6, 7pm
Philosopher's Cafe: Saturday, May 7, 7:30pm (RSVP here)


​Artist website: allenball.ca
April 1, 2022 -
​May 7, 2022

​Important Dates
May 6, 7pm
Closing Reception (in person)
May 7, 7:30pm
Philosopher's Cafe (online)
Picture
Fort Gallery / 9048 Glover Road / Fort Langley / 604.888.7411 / Tuesday to Saturday 12 to 5pm

The Fort Gallery resides on the unceded traditional territory of the Kwantlen, Katzie and Coast Salish nations.
We gratefully acknowledge the ongoing support of the following funders as well as our members, donors and volunteers.
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  • Home
  • Exhibitions
    • Current
    • Upcoming
    • Past >
      • Allen Ball
      • After Apple-Picking
      • Andrea Nunes + Brady Cranfield
      • Annual Auction Fundraiser
      • Sarah Ronald
      • Rachel Yoder
      • Making Home Juried Exhibition
      • Sora Park
      • Comforter
      • Neil Peter Dyck: Recent Paintings and Drawings
      • Todd Gronsdahl
      • Jazz Keillor
      • Auction Fundraiser
      • Barbara Zeigler
      • Manuel Axel Strain
      • Together Alone
    • Call for Submissions
  • Events
    • Online Events
    • Workshops
  • About
    • Staff and Board
    • Society membership
    • Donations
    • Submissions
    • Contact
  • Get Involved