JANUARY 5 / FEBRUARY 26 2006

Tart

Tiphanie Brooke is a graphic artist who specializes in mixed media collage. She uses a blend of traditional materials and the luxuries modern technology affords. She began her popular website when she was a teenager, and antigirl has evolved with her life and visual skill, her successes and failures. Brooke's raw emotion and almost religious dedication to creation blurs the line between where life ends and art begins. The UPPERCASE exhibition, Tart, presents a limited edition series of signed lithographs of her mixed media collages. (Read interviews with Antigirl here and here and here.)

A recurring visual theme in her collage works are images of women appropriated from advertising and fashion. These idealized women are the "tarts" of the UPPERCASE show - they are dressed up and on display, promiscuously selling their product, or themselves. These tarts may seem vacuous or stereotyped on their own, but collage artist Tiphanie Brooke manipulates their emotional content by distressing and layering text, patterns and colour. By superimposing her own aesthetic and personal narratives onto these images, Brooke lends these women substance and a beauty that goes beyond a pretty picture.

Alberta College of Art & Design 4th-year Visual Communications student Leah Santucci will have her collection of handmade greeting cards on display and available for sale. As well, UPPERCASE owner Janine Vangool will present a new batch of Eclecto Books featuring vintage sewing patterns and other found paper treasures.