Who doesn’t love a good game of “I Spy”? The newest exhibit on Surrey’s UrbanScreen plans to take you on an epic, and local, “I Spy” journey. Created by local animators, Flavourcel, “I Spy a City” captures different signs from across Whalley and the broader Surrey region in animated form. Viewers are invited to “spy” the things that connect with you: nearby shop facades, local ingredients, Surrey wildlife, popular sports, and more.
Spinning SkyTrains soar over dancing streetlights, smashed skateboards, and swimming salmon, while pagodas, volleyball nets, and satellite dishes shiver and spin. The coldness of concrete and metal contrasts with the warmth of parks, food, and nature. Working with rotating and looping animations, Flavourcel seeks to create pockets of life and connection within the social context of Surrey.
As the exhibit progresses, different Flavourcel members will re-mix “I Spy a City”, adding new animations while reconfiguring others, to encourage visitors to return again and again for new surprises and things to “spy”.
In conjunction with the exhibit, the Surrey Art Gallery will release a series of free instructional videos as part of its Art Together series of art programming. Members of Flavourcel will show you how to make your own animations at home, including one-frame loops, basic digital animations, and traditional pencil and paper animation. Watch for the videos on the Surrey Art Gallery social media channels.
The Urban Screen, presented by the Surrey Art Gallery, is the largest non-commercial screen in Canada and makes an impressive large screen canvas. Exhibitions change seasonally, so there always something beautiful and thought-provoking.
Flavourcel is an animation collective situated on the Unceded Coast Salish territories. It is comprised of 10 talented artists, brought together by their enthusiasm for the fun, the weird, but most of all for the art of animation. Flavourcel aims to uplift its members, as well as the communities it belongs to.
I Spy a City will be on display until May 2, 2021. Exhibitions begin 30 minutes after sunset, end at midnight and can be seen both onsite and from the Skytrain as it passes Gateway Station. Admission is free.
The Urban Screen
13458 107A Avenue
(west wall of Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre)
Photo Credit: Surrey Art Gallery