After two years of incubation, who are we now? Have the pressures of recent events cracked the fragile molds of our identity to such an extent that we must now reconcile our new found self? Can new light shine on previously unexplored places, exposing a new sense of our experience in the world?

Innominate Nature is an exhibition of artists who reject a ‘return to normal’ in favour of a deeply personal emergence into the unknown. It is an avant-garde exhibition that pushes experimental techniques, new conceptual boundaries and site-specific photo installation. Visitors can expect to confront their own identities, and the ways in which they choose to re-emerge into the world after a period of introspection.

Featuring the photo-based work of
Stéphane Alexis
Maria-Hélèna Pacelli
Julia Campisi
Alex Finlay

Exhibition On View:
Friday, January 14 - Sunday, February 20, 2022

Gallery Hours:
Wednesday - Sunday, 12pm - 5pm

Closing Reception:
Friday, February 18, 5PM - 8PM
The SPAO Centre, 77 Pamilla St. 

Maria-Hélèna Pacelli

Maria-Hélèna Pacelli (she, they) is a multidisciplinary feminist artist of Italian and French-Canadian descent living as a settler and diaspora on traditional Algonquin Anishinabe/Mohawk territory. Maria-Hélèna completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts (Photography) at Concordia University (2006). Her work as an artist has been intertwined with a long-standing fascination with the intersections between art and social justice. Being involved with the Québec student movement (2005), working with street-based theatre collective Théâtre UTIL (2007), feminist artist-run centre Galerie La Centrale-Powerhouse (2006) and founding artist collective MOBIL (2006-2008), Maria-Hélèna examined the relationship between art and activism through artistic practice and research at the graduate level, focusing on feminist political theatre. After completing a Master’s in Feminist and Gender Studies (formerly Women’s Studies) at the University of Ottawa (2012), Maria-Hélèna released an independent album, Stories the Land Will Tell (2016), and produced an original play, Ultraviolet Life at the Ottawa Fringe Festival (2018). Maria-Hélèna completed an Artist Residency with the School of Photographic Arts Ottawa (SPAO) in 2021 and continues to explore socio-political issues through artistic practice.

Alex Finlay

Alex Finlay is a visual artist based in Outaouais, Quebec, Canada. Using alternative processes, he dissects and explores notions of costume/uniform in terms of sexuality, identity and gender roles. His work asks viewers to question the relationship between dress and identity, while creating a bold visual aesthetic in the process.

Julia Campisi

Julia Campisi is a Toronto based interdisciplinary artist. Her work explores the possibility and meaning of material while simultaneously revealing links between seemingless dissimilar objects. She moves between domestic and industrial motifs, excavating and placing her findings in dialogue with one another to explore how the things that surround us become who we are. Her re-makings are not merely an act of reproduction but a subversive gesture that is meant to disrupt the complex archeology and relationship we have with objects, material and ultimately ourselves. She completed her BFA at Ryerson University and has exhibited her work in Toronto, Ottawa, and New York City.

Stéphane Alexis

Stéphane Alexis is Caribbean-Canadian artist based in Ottawa. His work stems from personal experiences, demographics, and sub demographics to which he belongs. His focus is both on conceptual design and aesthetic quality. He brings attention, and transparency to people and communities that are tucked away due to the hardships they face. These qualities are used to bridge insight on issues and circumstances facing these communities both locally and globally through the subject matter. Alexis has won awards and grants for book design and thought provoking content. In 2021, Alexis was selected for the Karsh Continuum Exhibition in 2022 and has numerous national publications.