Jack Jackowetz shows us the extraordinary beauty of the Brantford commonplace in his new addition to the Yellow Brick Wall: Exhibition No. 5.
The Yellow Brick Wall features Exhibition No. 5 from January 5th to February 15th. Exhibition No. 5 features a series of photographs of Brantford, each in his self-described “post impression photography” style. All 20 photographs have never been seen before, either in his books or in his galleries. The name Exhibition No. 5 refers to the Yellow Brick Wall itself, Jackowetz being the 5th artist to feature on it.
With the effective use of his signature style, Jackowetz aims to return the viewer to their childhood, playing to memories linked to the architecture. “It’s just a matter of paying attention to your surroundings,” says Jackowetz. “There’s always memories associated with different places that you went to, or hung out at, or visited. If you were in Brantford, the federal building, the old post office building, has two lions at the entrance-way. Every kid in Brantford has sat on those lions. It’s just a rite of passage, it’s what you do here.”
Jackowetz, living in Brantford himself, saw the Yellow Brick Wall as the perfect venue. Jackowetz is an active player in the community, holding various titles throughout Brantford. “I am past president of the Historical Society, I was on the Board of Directors, I’m the chair of the Brantford Arts Block, I was the chair of the Heritage Committee, I am the chair of the Tourism Advisory Committee, and I’ve been involved in many things Arts and Culture related in the city,” said Jackowetz.
Making his involvement in the city no secret, Jackowetz aims to make Brantford, and culture and history, the best it can be. “I think we need to appreciate where we live and what we have around us, and when we do that, we think ‘you know, this place isn’t so bad after all, this is a really cool place,’ and if I can help with that, that’s satisfying,” said Jackowetz. “Wherever you live, you have a choice to look for the good or look for the bad, and you make the best of a situation or you don’t. If you don’t like what you see, then you have to do something, and that’s why I get involved not only in art but in community initiative, because I want this to be a great place to live, because I think it is.”
It is no secret that for some students, Brantford is difficult to call home. Whether it is too cold, too big of a city, too small of a city, too gray, too green, Brantford can’t please everyone. The problem however, doesn’t lie in the size of the city, or the temperature outside, but instead in the viewpoint one views it with. Extraordinary beauty lies in the commonplace, and Exhibition No. 5 is a perfect example of that.
