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Artist information:
Sophie Canadé
Chicago, IL

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Sophie Canadé is showing at:
HopCat HopCat
25 Ionia SW
Suite 100
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
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Sophie Canadé
Artist bio: In 2000, Sophie Canadé commuted to her office job. So time would not be wasted, she began making sock monkeys during the hour-long ride on the bus. She no longer has that job, but she continues to make monkeys. Over the years, Sophie has sold sock monkeys, given monkeys away, given monkey-making lessons, instructed revolutionary guerrilla-monkey workshops, and used sock monkeys to explore concepts from the mathematical to the metaphysical. Sock monkeys are not her only medium, but they have been reoccurring, due to the fact that they do not stain carpet, and they are so portable.

In Dunedin, New Zealand, Sophie was a caregiver for mentally and physically handicapped adults, and in Auckland, NZ, she was a teachers' aid at a school for special needs children. In the US, she has volunteered at the Iowa Veteran's Home. Sophie is currently in the Master of Arts Therapy program at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago.
Artist statement:
About the work:
Title: Sock Monachus Nemus

Art form: 3-D

Medium: Socks, stuffing, yarn, buttons, teddy bear eyes, metal chain, tree branch

Year created: 2009

Description of work: Seven different sock monkey configurations are "blossoming" up the trunk and among the branches of a 10 foot sock tree. Each blossom of the tree represents a different approach from which humans have attempted to understand the shape of the universe or our place within it.

Work statement: My recent artwork is about metaphors we use to explore why we are alive, languages we develop to describe the shape of the universe and our place within it. My ongoing work with sock monkeys makes ‘sock monkey’ the medium through which varying genres of thought give explanation; cosmology, genetics, mythology, 4th dimensional topology, and phenomenology. My love of the sock monkey begins with its nature as a sock that is transformed materially into a cuddly representation of a monkey, which brings with it all the loaded contextual meaning of our evolutionary primate cousin. With monkey as mascot for evolution, the sock monkey becomes a natural vessel through which I translate my understanding of intangible ideas like DNA and dark energy, into very accessible forms.

Technical details:
Work width: 115 inches
Work height: 48 inches
Work depth: 48 inches
Required venue ceiling: 32 inches
Required venue door height: 32 inches
Required venue door width: 32 inches
Required wall linear footage: 1 ft.
Required venue square footage: 1 sq. ft.
Additional considerations:
Audio/video needed: No
Electrical needed: No
Lighting needed: No
Internet access needed: No
Ground floor access needed: No
Indoor space needed: Yes
Outdoor space needed: No

Work Images

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Artist resume


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