When She Was Bad is an exhibit of new paintings by Fancey being shown in the Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design’s main Gallery, Charlotte Street, Sydney, until July 22, 2011.
A media release describing the exhibit says, “There have always been girls who deviate from the roles and rules deemed acceptable by society. There are girls who dare to defy stereotypes, and then there are those who embrace them.”
“My inspiration came from my various collections,” says Fancey. “Found and collected objects from streets, beaches, and flea markets, as well as vintage photography and post WWII ladies’ magazines make their way into the work. I like to imagine what lies behind the ‘camera-ready’ expressions of the women in the photographs and then tell a new story with paint and just the right object from my collections.”
“Sometimes when I’m trying to perfect my idea, I’ll often write poems, rhymes or prose to further develop the visual,” says Fancey. “I thought it would be fun to actually display them alongside the paintings they helped inspire to add to the stories being told.”
Fancey is a painter and printmaker working in both acrylics and relief printmaking methods. She works from her home and summer studios in Sydney and Margaree Harbour on Cape Breton Island.
Primarily self-taught, Fancey has worked and learned with other artists. Her work has been exhibited in collaborative/group shows and is held in private collections throughout North America and beyond. The Nova Scotia Art Bank Program purchased her work in 2000 and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation commissioned a piece for their Canada Reads Project in 2003, which is now held in their collection. She is a member of Visual Arts Nova Scotia, the Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design, and the Inverness County Council for the Arts.
Using a bit of humour with a little camp thrown in for good measure, When She Was Bad looks at being a “bad girl”, from naughty and mischievous to wayward and wicked.
