As if the bevy of beautiful snaggle toothed, lumpy, wide eyed beasts scheduled to fill Stranger Factory this Friday weren’t enough to make our hearts pound in anticipation, your daring reporter has just laid eyes on what is certain to be the crowning glory on Migration – a collaborative piece between Chris Ryniak and Amanda Louise Spayd. Please revive me, because my heart has stopped. It is only out of duty to you, dear blog readers, that my fingers continue to type.
Chris and Amanda met in 2006, when they were both working as designers for a major greeting card corporation. They’ve been friends since then, and it has been delightful to see both of their artistic endeavours blossom alongside one another.
We’re saving the full reveal for the online preview(fear not, it’s only a day away), but we can’t help but cruelly tease you with these wonderful little detail shots.
CP: How did you decide on and work on this collaborative piece together?
Chris and Mandi: Chris had done a drawing of his character – just a little sketch. We had really wanted to do a collaboration for the show, but once we saw his sketch, knew exactly what it would be. A really natural pairing of our characters, as journeying companions. In terms of actually making it, we each constructed our respective parts of the sculpture, then both cooperated on the aesthetic and technical aspects of how to join them into one cohesive concept.
Amanda: But I did all the really hard stuff.
Chris: But just because it was hard does not mean it looks any good.
Chris and Amanda: You can leave this out, we were just being assholes.
CP: What is the best thing about collaborating with each other, both on this piece, and on these 2-person shows?
Chris and Amanda: We think so much alike, it makes collaborating very easy. We share a similar passion for textures, colors, and expression, so we know that whatever we each come up with has a really good chance of resonating with the other. Another aspect that I think makes us work well together is that we trust each other professionally, and have a lot of confidence in the skills of the other.
