See / Saw presents an exhibition of new works by Ver Sands: the creative partnership between Hamilton-based artists Jacqui Oakley and Jamie Lawson. Created during their time in studio as Smokestack Analog Printmaking Residency participants, this project represents Ver Sands’ latest collaborative endeavour in silkscreen.

“…places like this are like shells from the shore, ever echoing with noises.”
Arthur Machen
Adventure of the Deserted Residence
from The Three Impostors; or, The Transmutations

See/Saw is an exploration of memory — an examination and expression of those intangible things that reverberate across the years from childhood to the present. We looked at how these ethereal snatches of memory have a tendency to recombine themselves in curious unions, and how places and images become symbols over time. These develop into mile-markers that establish elements in a landscape of our histories, creating an elusive, ever-changing map to our interior worlds. This collection of people, places, images, and symbols are part of us and exert an inevitable influence.

Using family photographs, along with illustrations and textures from our individual art practices, we produced collage compositions that were deconstructed and reassembled to create these silkscreen prints. 
-Ver Sands

Established in 2013, Ver Sands —the duo of Jacqui Oakley and Jamie Lawson—partner on a broad range of projects from fine art, illustration, and design to murals and live art.

As Ver Sands, they aim to blur the line between commercial work and fine art; the concrete and the abstract, where all aspects feel meaningful and personally explorative, while reaching a broad audience and maintaining a dialogue with the culture at large. Their distinctive work is characterized by bold concepts, vivid colours, and textural depth. Ver Sands’ artworks have been presented in exhibitions in Hamilton and Toronto and internationally in New York and California.