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!"#$%&'$(!") %+, -./01

My grandmoLher used Lo collecL a loL of [unk ln her basemenL. CollecL ls maybe Lhe wrong word,
because when asked she would call lL 'savlng'. lor years, she was a 'savlor' Lo several old
appllances (some never used), newspapers, magazlnes, dozens of books, a record player wlLh no
needle, a bunch of old mechanlcal Loys and garbage bags full of worn cloLhes. As klds, Lhls casL-
away mounLaln of [unk was a goldmlne. 8oy Arden would have loved lL. WhaL my grandmoLher
was 'savlng', Arden would have deemed research. lL's safe Lo say LhaL he has made lL hls
vocauon Lo collecL a varleLy of dlscarded memorabllla, Lo save and preserve ModernlLy's
shrapnel.
1he ConLemporary ArL Callery (CAC) ls hosL Lo Arden's recenL solo exhlblL enuLled
!"#$%&'$(!", whlch ls [usLly named slmply on Lhe basls of physlcallLy alone con[urlng up an
lmage of 'everyLhlng'. 1he uLle could be loosely assoclaLed wlLh Lhe shape of Lhe sun, slnce
much of Lhe work conLalns clrcular moufs Lhe largesL belng a colorful wlndmlll-esque
assemblage powered by Lwo pedal blkes, along wlLh oLher clrcular Lhemes llke eggs, wheels,
reproduced record sleeves and rusLed boule caps. ColncldenLly, lL ls also Lhe name of Lhe arusLs'
onllne blog (www.royarden.com/blog) whlch ls home Lo much of Lhe accumulauve research for
hls nlshed work. 1here are nearly one hundred works whlch make up Lhls Clrcus-llke exhlblL
whlch range from sald assemblages, roLaung sculpLures made up of rusLed found-ob[ecLs,
lnumaLe hand-made collages, prlnLed llnen, old pauerns and graphlc reproducuons. 1here ls
even a sLack of old cloLhes ln one of Lhe corners LhaL broughL me back Lo my grandmoLher's
basemenL.
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1he number of works and Lhelr dlverslLy ls somewhaL unusual and parucularly overwhelmlng.
WlLh Lhe dlvlde of Lhe Lwo ma[or rooms ln Lhe gallery lL could have passed for Lwo separaLe
shows or aL leasL a large group exhlblL. ln Lurn, Lhls does allow Lhe vlewer Lo relaLe Lo Lhe work
ln many dlerenL ways. 1he playful showcaslng of Lhe work helps seL a seemlngly absurd sLage
and yeL aer careful observauon wlll reveal a common Lhread LhaL runs Lhrough Lhe enure
dlverse collecuon of work. 1here ls a sLrong remnanL of Lhe lndusLrlal revoluuon presenung Lhe
feel of a derellcL mlsL cousln Lo 1he CreaL Lxhlbluon of 1831
1
. Arden ls deplcung and crluqulng
Lhe profound changes Lhe lndusLrlal age had on our socloeconomlc and culLural landscape. 1he
norLh room of Lhe gallery LhaL holds Lhe larger assemblages and more graphlcal work ls mosL
suggesuve of Lhls, maklng reference Lo Lechnologlcal advancemenLs ln LransporLauon, Lhe
mechanlzauon of Lexules as well as sLeam power and Lhe locomouve. 1he arusL reveals our
progress as a modernlzed human race whlle also lndlcauve of Lhe unfavorable condluons Lhe
workers had.
lL ls clear LhaL Lhls work ls Lhe resulL of years of research on Lhe world aL large and yeL Lhere ls a
personal Louch LhaL has been admlnlsLered here LhaL ls Lhlck wlLh nosLalgla. 1hls ls parucularly
cogenL ln Lhe souLh room amongsL Lhe dellcaLe and very lnumaLe collage work. 1he collecLed
maLerlals LhaL make up Lhe work have been carefully and crypucally placed, llke ln &)* ,-.
(2009), and can only have personal meanlng Lo Lhe arusL and yeL Lhese collaged works do
conLaln lmagery LhaL ls fundamenLally evocauve. l found looklng aL Lhe old Coke boule alone
acuvaLed areas of my memory LhaL encouraged personal lnLerpreLauon and explorauon. lL was
lnsplrlng and Louchlng Lo be amongsL LhaL work whlle rememberlng very personal memorles of
my grandmoLher's basemenL along wlLh oLher parLs of my chlldhood. Soon aer enLerlng Lhe
doors of Lhe gallery, l felL aL home.
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1he show runs unul March 27 and l suggesL lf you plan on golng you should glve yourself ample
ume Lo really dlgesL Lhe breadLh of 8oy Arden's work. lf lL's been awhlle and you only remember
hlm for hls phoLographlc serles ln Lhe early 90's on abandoned houslng ln vancouver's LasL-Slde
you are ln for a LreaL. 1hls ls largely a deparLure and yeL ls sull rlch wlLh emouve hlsLorlcal
references. l would be surprlsed lf you dldn'L leave wlLh a few awakened memorles.
-M. Campbell 02/10/11




1
1he CreaL Lxhlbluon' was Lhe rsL ln a serles of Lxpos LhaL hlghllghLed Lhe sLaLe of lndusLry ln all nauons around
Lhe globe. lor more, see Lhe Wlklpedla enLry (hup://en.wlklpedla.org/wlkl/1he_CreaL_Lxhlbluon)