The Day Job, an ongoing work that started in 2003, incorporates hiding art within the hidden recesses of other artworks and in places not meant to be found. I call this process Silent Graffiti ~ recording repetitive moments of preservation only to forget them.
The Day Job isn’t merely a treasure hunt; it embodies a philosophy of life. The art of scraping the surface invites a metamorphic approach to observation, encouraging shifts in perspective to notice the unnoticed and seek out what is often overlooked. The work lingers in a liminal space, confronting us with the paradox of contemporary existence, a reality in constant flux where traces of the past and potential futures converge.
Director statement
Since The Day Job began in 2003, I have documented hundreds of hours of hidden moments. This is the second glimpse into that ongoing archive, with more to be released in the years to come, each revealing new layers as the work continues to evolve.
Bio
Christian Nicolay is a Canadian interdisciplinary artist working between Vancouver and Kelowna BC. His diverse body of work employs a wide range of media and techniques often seeking pathways that intercept traditional ways of working with materials. Part of his artistic strategy is to examine and play in liminal areas that are hard to define, often challenging common perceptions of borders and boundaries in relation to process, materiality and function.
He graduated with a BFA from the University of British Columbia (UBC Okanagan) receiving the Helen Pitt Award in 2000. He has exhibited, screened and lectured widely in both Canada and abroad and has been the recipient of several awards, grants, honours and residencies.
Pebbles Underground is focused on showcasing and promoting experimental, avant-garde, underground, and no-to-low budget projects by artist-humans from all over the world. Absurd, uncanny, witty, humorous, slow-video – all are welcomed, and loved.
Pebbles Underground is an independent project not funded by any government or corporation, and we intend to keep it that way. Main source of funding is personal donations from humans organizing the project, who are artists themselves, and the main drive of the project is formed by the energy and involvement of the organizers, and the public.
