"I
had a small adrenaline giggle when Patrick Macaulay first approached me with
his idea for Roundabout.. this chain letter exhibition. To open CONTACT'02
with a show curated by rumour is an unusually brave gamble, but it is also
insightful. Art always begins public life as a rumour. A man stands on a busy
street corner pointing at the sky. Soon a crowd gathers and stares into the
clouds where some improvised meaning must certainly appear. Pat was simply
asking me to start pointing. But point where? I knew that by being first on
his list, my choice would easily determine the future shape of the show. I
needed to find an exciting, fresh artist who was also professional enough
to show us good work and critical enough to lead our gaze further. I've known
Justin Wonnacott for more than two decades. He once made painterly daguerreotypes.
Then he did straight documentary pictures in shopping malls. He was one of
the first artists to use web technology and populated his site with staged
ironic scenes reminiscent of Hollywood. He is a superb technician and a restless
bulldog of a critic. He doesn't spare his own work from critical introspection
either. He has always experimented with both ideas and technique, taking each
effort to perfection and then rethinking his whole creative process from the
start. He's a passionate educator. He strongly believes in the power of networks.
He's not from Toronto. I hope you can see where I'm pointing... I'm pointing
to a bright pointing star, the second in this constellation. "
