I’ve thought about this twice this week now, and Williamson Bathory is confronting me. I was small talking with a costumer during work, he says he misses the sun, I tell him I’ve been needing to touch the earth for a while now. Reminiscences of home caress me while I walk from home to school and from school to work: it’s not as cold there, I can lay on the grass during this time of the year, you only need a big sweater and you’re set. Williamson Bathory keeps whispering to me, where is the middle of your sila? Where is the middle of your sila? Where is the middle of your sila?  

     As you walk inside the warmth of the AGO, a feeling of coldness surpasses your comfort; first by hearing and then by seeing. Slow and ethereal repetitive chants call you into Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory's exhibition; snow, dance, a dead rabbit, landscapes, bodies of water, painted faces, and double visions welcome you as you walk into the room. The visitors are given the freedom to rotate and choose an intuitive path around the room due to its' octagonal (almost circular) nature. There is a main double-sided video installation in the middle of the room, two floating shelves that hold soapstone carvings accompany the installation. The lightning is dim and warm, it is only directed to the labels and supporting text; this helps to enhance the centerpiece. Everything except for the labels has been painted white. The screen is being held by four metal wires, each in every corner. The two projectors that play in loop the artist’s piece are hidden within a biomorphic container, almost resembling snow or glaciers. 

     The decision of including mirrors inside the floating semi-circular shelves ties the exhibition together: It supports the main question that the artist invites us to answer, where is the middle of your sila?. The viewer is being confronted by chants, cries, visual imagery and personal reflection. It is not an easy piece to digest, but additional couches ask the visitors to sit with the piece; we are encouraged to stay with the artist for a minute, to be still in the snow with her as we reflect on our "open-ended spiritual understanding of our place in existence." (Bathory) This challenging exhibition is only a reflection of the complexities that lie within us and our comprehension of the place we reside.  

Written by KR.