at the power plant
Today, I had the pleasure of viewing a solo exhibition of Shelagh Keeley’s work at the Power Plant in Toronto. On view is a collection of her film notebooks followed by a screening of her films.
Kyoto Notebook, Shelagh Keeley
When entering the exhibition, we are greeted with Keeley’s archive that support the video work shown. In this archive, we get a look at her journals and sketches titled “Film Notebooks”. Her notes stretch from 1985-2017 and allows viewers insight to how her ideas that led to the films developed. At the center of Shelagh’s drawing practice is “based on an intuitive and embodied response”.
Keeley’s note taking and documentation is an example of how the process is just as important as the final result. I am often torn about if my process exposes my practice too much. But as a performer and image maker, I am learning how the documentation can be a work of its own. The notes, sketches, and journals kept of your work over the years can act as an extension of the initial work.
With this, I am challenged with considering how should I document my performance work. Even though I am an artist, I am a laborer. The manager is you, or who ever else views my work, whether it be a gallery, a publication, the audience is my boss. Without your support, I would not get work as an artist. With that, showing my process feels a bit like bringing my personal life to work.
The Unfinished Conversation: Encoding/Decoding, Shelagh Keeley
But unlike other roles, an artists intimate details shapes the larger perception of their work. Viewing the practice of Keeley’s record keeping led me to take a more intentional approach to archiving my performances. Although I want the live performance to be an experience one only gets by receiving, I think about the importance of other elements of the performance. I’ve began creating a catalog of the costumes I’ve created a detailing the reason for selecting each item. Since the characters I play will evolve over time, I can adopt methods to preserve their stories once the performance ends.
References
The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery. (2025). Shelagh Keeley: Film Notebooks 1985–2017. [online] Available at: https://www.thepowerplant.org/whats-on/exhibitions/film-notebooks-1985-2017 [Accessed 20 May 2025].
The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery. (2015). The Unfinished Conversation: Encoding/Decoding. [online] Available at: https://www.thepowerplant.org/whats-on/exhibitions/the-unfinished-conversation-encodingdecoding[Accessed 20 May 2025].
