Porøs
Neil Forrest is a singular voice in contemporary craft, and his installation Porøs is a modern grotto – a sanctuary invoking our biosphere as theatre of improvised events and natural processes. He follows the tradition of grottos as an artistic expression where the viewer experiences the hiss of water escaping through tiny pores in the clay, crystals teaming around rods and inside bells and the hollow sound of water dripping. He has made a sensory garden in which to meander and reflect.
Forrest introduces us to a world of natural science and uses cisterns, industrial forms and even architecture to house his experiments. Soluble liquids deposit an array of colourful crystals while pumps and compressors pulse to push liquids through the pores of the clay to create an audible and tactile phenomena.
The idea of Porøs is to make the clay bleed in a beautiful way and the observer to witness the change of materials from one state to another.
From the 2021 Masterworks jury:
“Porøs is what is possible when an artist has mastered their medium. It creates a dialogue with the form as a whole.”
Peter is an architect registered in Nova Scotia and has been so since 1986. His practice includes residential and institutional projects. Recently he has completed the Evergreen Theatre renovation and is working on the new Bus Stop Theatre in Halifax. His firm has been responsible for the Black Loyalist Heritage Museum and the Cultural Federations of Nova Scotia projects. His practice has won awards for a number of projects including a Lieutenant Governor’s Award.
Peter is an Adjunct Professor at Dalhousie University, now teaching in his 38th year. He is a frequent lecturer on theatre design at Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Architecture and in the Dal Theatre Department. Peter has also done work with the Dalhousie Department of Theatre both as an architect and a scenographer.
Peter has been involved in Theatre and Theatre Design throughout much of his working career. He has worked on the biggest (Nigerian National Theatre in Abuja and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center) and the smallest (Halifax Music Co-op reno) and many in between. He mentored under Fred Lebensold at ARCOP working at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, and has collaborated with internationally recognized theatre consultants NOVITA Interpares and NovitaTECHNE.
He is/has been a board member of the Bus Stop Theatre, Match Stick Theatre, Eastern Front Theatre, Nova Scotia Cultural Network and the Halifax Cycling Coalition..
A native of Toronto ON -and/or- Middleton NS, Peter has lived and worked in Africa, Asia and America. He now makes his home in Halifax Nova Scotia.
