Stop-motion animation of install at Cambridge Galleries, 2013
Documentary by Nancy Rosenblum, 2011
Sometimes, Things Are Exactly As They Appear, Tree preperation, Nelson, 2011
Sometimes, Things Are Exactly As They Appear, construction, Nelson, 2011
Sometimes, Things Are Exactly As They Appear, construction, Nelson, 2011
Sometimes, Things Are Exactly As They Appear, construction, Nelson, 2011
Sometimes, Things Are Exactly As They Appear, installation view, Edmonton, 2012
Sometimes, Things Are Exactly As They Appear, installation view, Edmonton, 2012
Sometimes, Things Are Exactly As They Appear, installation view, Edmonton, 2012
Sometimes, Things Are Exactly As They Appear, installation view, Edmonton, 2012
Sometimes, Things Are Exactly As They Appear, installation view, Edmonton, 2012
The use of a mass-produced item is a common theme in many of Johnston’s works. In Sometimes, Things are Exactly as They Appear, the artist references production in the form of lumber. From the side, this massive installation appears as a chaotic muddle of 2x4s and boxes. When viewed from another side the platform above the installation area, the figure of a de-constructed tree (the lumber’s original form) can be seen. With this elaborate piece of art, Johnston brings forward the idea that the trees making the installation haven’t been created or destroyed, but merely changed; the original tree still able to be viewed, although from a different perspective.
Amber Rooke, Curator, The Works Art & design Festival 2011. Commissioned by The Works Art & design Festival.