Thing 1 & Thing 2

There’s more to the art at West Edmonton Mall Transit Centre than meets the eye.

Two panels, created by local artists Lisa Turner and Paul Bernhardt appear minimal at first glance, however upon further examination complex themes begin to emerge.

The artists drew on Gestalt Psychology, which is an attempt to understand the laws behind the ability to acquire and maintain meaningful perceptions in an apparently chaotic world. The theory posits that the mind inherently combines visual information into a rationalized whole based on its’ own internal logic. Similarly, these low-relief panels, one coloured in green, and the other in pink, are hybrid consumer product silhouettes created through the fusion of multiple product sources. 

The resulting works are whimsical, animated, anthropomorphic shapes that appear familiar, yet enigmatic. Evoking the Rorschach test, the images challenge the viewer to rely on memory, experience and imagination to decipher what they are looking at. The panels lend themselves to multiple interpretations – are the protuberances on the green panel antennae or Vespa handlebars? Is there a map and trees embedded within the curving outline of the pink panel, or is it a cloud?
 
In keeping with the Transit Centre’s proximity to one of the largest shopping malls in the world, the art investigates the relationships between advertising, product design, and the objects we desire.